OUR  LITTLE  HINDU  COUSIN 


BLANCHE  •  McMANUS 


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Our   Little   Hindu    Cousin 


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CHOLA    IN    HIS    FATHER'S    SHOP. 


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Our  Little  Hindu 

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Copyright,  igoy 
By  L.  C.  Page  &  Company 

(incorporated) 
All  rights  7- e served 


Second  Impression,  August,  1908 


Preface 


Our  little  cousins  of  Hindustan  are  charming 
little  people,  even  though  their  manners  and 
customs  and  their  religion  are  so  very  different 
from  our  own. 

India  is  a  big  country,  and  there  are  many 
different  races  of  people  living  within  its  bor- 
ders, the  two  principal  ones  being  the  Moham- 
medans and  the  Hindus.  The  Mohammedans 
number  about  sixty  millions  and  there  are  about 
a  hundred  and  eighty  millions  of  Hindus,  who 
are  by  far  the  superior  race. 

The  intelligence  of  the  Hindus  is  of  a  very 
high  order,  but,  like  all  Eastern  races,  they  have 
many  superstitions.  Their  attention  to  their 
food  and  drink  and  personal   cleanliness  is  re- 


vi  Preface 

markable,  and,  though  their  customs  in  this  re- 
spect are  peculiar,  they  follow  a  healthful  and 
sanitary  manner  of  living  which  might  well  be 
practised  by  Western  folk. 

The  arts  and  crafts  of  the  Hindus  and  their 
trades  and  professions  are  very  strange  and  in- 
teresting, and  the  young  people  themselves 
invariably  grow  up  in  the  same  occupations  as 
their  elders.  There  is  no  mixing  of  the  races 
or  castes,  and  members  of  one  caste  always  as- 
sociate with  those  of  the  same  class. 

But  the  English  influence  is  making  itself 
so  strongly  felt,  that  frequently  the  children 
learn  English  as  early  in  life  as  they  do  their 
own  language;  so  our  little  American  cousins 
would  almost  always  be  able  to  make  of  them 
good  playfellows  and  would  perhaps  be  able  to 
learn  many  valuable  lessons  from  Our  Little 
Hindu  Cousins. 

B.   McM. 
Suez,  January,  igo?. 


Contents 


I.    Chola  at  Home        .....      i 
II.    A  Day  in  the  Bazaar       .  .  .  .16 

III.  The  Children's  Holiday  .  .  .    35 

IV.  The   Children  Travel    in   the    Big    Ox- 

wagon  .  .  .  .  .  .50 

V.    The  Children  See  Benares  and  Go  Home 

for  a  Wedding      .  .  .  .  .66 

VI.    The  Little  Sahib  Sees  the  Big  Elephants    80 

VII.    Chola  Goes  on  a  Tiger  Hunt         .  .    94 


List   of  Illustrations 


Chola   in  His  Father's  Shop     (See  page  19) 

Frontispiece 
Buying  Sweets  in  the  Bazaar  ...  30 
"  First  there  came  a   big  elephant  "  '57 

"  These  the    children   twisted    into   wreaths 

and  threw  into  the   river  "    .  .  .69 

The  Marriage  of  Shriya        .  .  .  .       76 

"  Suddenly,    up    out    of    the    jungle,    there 

sprang  a  great  yellow  tiger  "  .  .     102 


Jfoptf  INDIA 
showcngpfaces  menfionecCtn 

OUR  LITTLE  HINDU  COUSIN 


Sncftarz.  Ocean 


Our  Little   Hindu  Cousin 


CHAPTER    I 


CHOLA   AT    HOME 


It  was  barely  light  when  little  Chola  rolled 
out  of  his  blanket  and  gave  his  cousin  Mahala 
a  shake  as  he  lay  stretched  out  beside  him. 

"  Lazy  one,  listen !  I  hear  little  kids  bleat- 
ing below  in  the  courtyard;  the  new  goats 
with  the  long  hair  must  have  come.  Hasten  1 
We  will  be  the  first  to  see  them !  " 

"  Oh !  "  said  Mahala,  sitting  up  and  rub- 
bing his  eyes,  "  thou  art  the  plague  of  my  life. 
I  was  in  the  midst  of  a  beautiful  dream.  I 
dreamed  that  I  was  sitting  beside  a  clear 
stream,  with  many  dishes  of  sweetmeats  beside 

i 


2  Our  Little  Hindu  Cousin 

me,  and  I  was  just  beginning  to  eat  them  when 
thou  didst  wake  me." 

"  Oh,  thou  greedy  one!  'Tis  always  of 
sweets  that  thou  art  thinking,"  laughed  Chola, 
as  he  and  Mahala  ran  down  the  little  winding 
stairway  which  led  from  their  room  into  the 
courtyard. 

"  Here  they  are,  aren't  they  dear  little  crea- 
tures?" cried  Chola,  as  two  little  kids  came 
frisking  toward  them,  while  the  big  white 
mother  goat  followed  them  bleating  piteously. 

"  What  fine  long  white  hair  they  have,"  ex- 
claimed Mahala,  trying  to  catch  one  of  the 
kids  as  it  bounded  past  him. 

"  A  lot  of  fuss  over  some  goats,"  grumbled 
the  old  porter.  "  This  fellow  with  his  goats 
came  hammering  before  cock-crow  at  the  gate," 
continued  the  old  man,  who  did  not  like  having 
to  come  down  from  his  little  room  over  the 
big  gateway  of  the  court  at  such  an  early  hour 
to  open  the  gate. 


Chola  at  Home  3 

"  We  are  early  risers  in  the  hills,"  said  the 
man  who  had  brought  the  goats.  "  It  is  you 
town  folks  who  are  lazy;  but  I  promised  your 
master  when  he  bought  the  goats  in  the 
market  yesterday  that  he  should  have  them 
this  morning." 

"  Oh,  thou  art  from  the  hills,"  exclaimed 
the  boys,  looking  curiously  at  the  little  man 
in  his  strange  dress. 

"Yes,  from  the  far  northwest;  and  both  I 
and  my  goats  are  homesick  for  the  tall  moun- 
tains with  the  snow  on  their  tops  and  the  great 
pine-trees.  We  like  not  these  hot  plains;  but 
I  must  be  off  to  the  market,"  and,  twirling  his 
stick,  the  little  man  left,  clanging  the  heavy 
gate  behind  him. 

"  Come,  we  will  bathe  before  our  fathers 
come  down,"  said  Mahala,  after  they  had 
played  about  with  the  kids  awhile;  "  they  al- 
ways say  we  are  in  their  way."  So  saying  the 
two  little  boys  ran  into  the  big  garden  where, 


4  Our  Little  Hindu  Cousin 

under  a  group  of  mango-trees,  there  was  a  big 
stone  tank,  or  pond,  of  water,  with  steps  going 
down  into  it.  Here  Chola  and  Mahala  bathed 
every  morning,  for  it  was  part  of  their  religion 
and  must  be  done  in  a  certain  way.  Indeed, 
some  of  our  little  Hindu  cousins  bathe  before 
each  meal;  and  this  is  why,  all  over  India, 
you  will  see  the  people  bathing  in  the  rivers, 
in  the  public  bathing-places,  and  in  their  own 
gardens  at  all  times  of  the  day.  Moreover,  it 
is  a  very  pleasant  custom  for  a  hot  country 
like  India.  As  the  boys  were  splashing  mer- 
rily about  in  the  big  tank,  down  dropped  a  big 
mango  right  on  top  of  Chola's  head. 

"  Where  did  that  come  from?"  he  cried, 
looking  around;  but  there  was  no  one  to  be 
seen,  so  he  went  on  splashing,  when  down  came 
another  mango,  and  a  sound  was  heard  as  if 
some  one  was  chuckling  to  himself. 

M  Oh,    it's    thou,    son    of    mischief!"    cried 


Chola  at  Home  5 

Chola,  as  a  little  monkey  leaped  down  and 
capered  around  on  the  edge  of  the  tank. 

It  was  Jam,  Chola's  pet  monkey.  A  cousin 
of  the  gardener  had  caught  it  in  his  field  one 
night  when  he  was  guarding  his  crops  from  the 
monkeys.  These  mischievous  animals  would 
often  dash  out  in  droves  from  the  near-by 
forest  at  night  and  eat  up  the  farmers'  crop. 
He  did  not  wish  to  kill  the  little  monkey;  for, 
like  many  Hindus,  he  thought  it  a  sacred  ani- 
mal. So  he  had  brought  it  to  Chola  for  a 
pet. 

The  boys  had  great  fun  with  Jam,  though 
often  he  would  play  mischievous  pranks  on 
them.  To-day  Jam  thought  this  was  just  his 
chance  to  have  fun.  Spying  Chola's  turban 
lying  beside  his  clothes  on  the  steps  of  the 
tank,  he  pounced  upon  it  and  carried  it  up  into 
the  mango-tree. 

"  Oh,  son  of  mischief,  just  wait  until  I  catch 
thee!     Bring  back  my  turban!"  cried  Chola, 


6  Our  Little  Hindu  Cousin 

as  he  scrambled  out  of  the  water  and  climbed 
up  after  Jam  in  a  jiffy.  It  would  never  do  for 
him  to  lose  his  turban,  for  it  would  be  very 
bad  manners  for  him  to  be  seen  without  this 
curious  head-covering.  But  as  Chola  went  up 
the  tree,  Jam  climbed  down  by  an  out-stretch- 
ing limb  and  swung  himself  to  the  ground, 
then  away  he  went  tearing  around  the  garden 
with  Chola  after  him.  Suddenly  Jam  tossed 
the  turban  over  the  garden  wall  and  flew  to 
the  top  of  the  house,  wild  with  joy  at  having 
given  Chola  such  a  chase. 

"  Oh,  Mahala,  find  it  for  me,"  said  Chola, 
as  he  dropped  breathless  on  the  grass. 

Mahala  ran  out  into  the  road  and  was  back 
directly. 

"  Here  is  thy  turban  all  unrolled,"  he 
laughed,  throwing  what  seemed  to  be  many 
yards  of  white  cloth  at  Chola. 

"  Just  wait  until  I  take  a  good  bamboo 
stick  to  thee,  wicked  one,"  said  Chola,  shaking 


Chola  at  Home  7 

his  fist  at  Jam,  now  safe  out  of  reach,  and 
beginning  to  wind  the  cloth  around  his  head. 

After  their  bath  it  did  not  take  the  boys 
long  to  dress,  for  they  just  wound  a  long  white 
garment  around  and  around  them,  and  slipped 
over  this  a  little  jacket. 

"  Let  us  go  to  the  cook-room  now  and  see 
what  the  women  are  cooking;  to  dream  of 
sweets  does  not  take  away  one's  hunger,"  said 
Mahala,  after  the  boys  had  given  their  teeth 
a  vigorous  washing  and  rubbing  with  little 
sticks,  which  was  another  one  of  their  religious 
duties. 

As  the  boys  ran  across  the  courtyard,  scat- 
tering the  goats,  doves,  and  fowls  which  were 
picking  up  seeds  and  grain,  a  voice  called  out: 
"  Give  me  food,  oh,  little  princelings!" 

"  That  must  be  a  beggar,  but  I  do  not  see 
him,"  said  Mahala,  looking  around. 

"  It  is  old  green-coat,"  said  Chola,  laugh- 
ing, and  pointing  to  the  other  side  of  the  court 


8  Our  Little  Hindu  Cousin 

where  hung  a  hoop  in  which  sat  a  beautiful 
parrot,  all  brilliant  green  and  blue  and  red. 
He  could  talk  so  well  that  a  stranger  who  came 
to  the  house  would  look  everywhere  to  find  the 
human  being  who  he  thought  had  spoken  to 
him.  Once  there  came  a  thief  who  thought 
he  could  steal  the  fine  cock  that  stood  under 
the  veranda  with  his  head  under  his  wing. 
Just  as  the  thief  caught  the  cock  by  the  neck, 
such  a  torrent  of  abuse  came  from  above  that 
he  dropped  the  cock  and  rolled  in  the  dust, 
crying  out:  "Mercy!  mercy!  Oh,  great  one, 
thy  slave  will  never  do  this  thing  again!" 
Then  as  he  heard  a  laugh,  and  no  one  seized 
him,  he  fearfully  lifted  his  head,  and  there  sat 
the  parrot  swinging  on  his  hoop-perch.  The 
thief  slunk  away  very  much  ashamed  that  he 
had  been  fooled  by  a  bird. 

"Ah,  it  smells  good!"  said  Mahala,  as 
they  looked  in  at  the  door  of  the  cook-house 
which  was  near  the  great  gateway. 


Chola  at  Home  g 

There  were  no  stoves  or  even  fireplaces  in 
the  cook-room,  but  a  series  of  little  holes  or 
cupboards  in  the  wall,  in  each  of  which  was 
a  pot  or  pan  resting  on  a  few  bricks  or  stones 
over  a  tiny  fire.  These  little  ovens  were  near 
the  floor,  so  that  the  cook  could  watch  the  pots 
and  pans  while  squatting.  No  Hindu  stands 
up  to  any  kind  of  work  if  he  has  a  chance  to 
sit  down. 

Three  or  four  women  were  squatting  around 
watching  the  cooking,  while  the  boys'  old 
grandmother  bustled  about  scolding  everybody 
within  sight. 

"  Do  not  linger  here,"  said  the  grandmother 
to  the  boys,  "  this  is  no  place  for  children." 

"  But,  grandmother,  Shriya  is  here,"  ob- 
jected Mahala;    "  why  can't  we  stay,  too." 

"  I  am  helping  grandmother,"  said  Maha- 
la's  little  sister  Shriya,  who,  with  a  very  im- 
portant air,  was  sitting  on  the  floor  stirring 
something  in  a  big  bowl.     Shriya  felt  that  she 


IO  Our  Little  Hindu  Cousin 

was  a  person  of  importance  these  days,  for 
was  she  not  going  to  be  married  soon! 

"  Shriya  is  a  useful  little  girl;  besides,  why 
are  you  not  in  the  great  room  where  thy  fath- 
ers make  sacrifice  to  the  Gods  of  the  House- 
hold?" answered  the  old  lady,  rather  tartly. 
Like  all  good  cooks  she  did  not  like  to  be  both- 
ered while  she  was  preparing  her  dishes. 

"  Come  away,  the  grandmother  is  always 
cross  when  she  is  in  the  cook-room,"  whis- 
pered Chola;  so  he  and  Mahala  crossed  the 
court  again  and  went  into  the  house. 

If  you  should  come  to  visit  Chola,  you 
would  think  no  one  lived  there  when  you  first 
entered  the  house.  You  would  see  no  furni- 
ture of  any  kind,  no  tables  or  chairs,  for  every 
one  sits  cross-legged  on  mats  or  rugs  spread 
on  the  floor,  or  squats  on  their  heels.  The 
walls  are  whitewashed  and  bare,  and  there  are 
no  pictures  or  knick-knacks  such  as  you  have 
at  home. 


Chola  at  Home  1 1 

The  great-room  was  the  sitting-room  and 
dining-room  for  all  the  family  except  the 
women,  who  lived  in  their  own  part  of  the 
house,  called  the  zenana. 

At  one  end  of  the  great-room  was  a  shrine, 
in  which  was  a  curious  old  idol  of  baked  red 
clay.  This  was  supposed  to  be  the  image  of 
the  family  god,  and  each  morning  offerings 
were  made  to  it.  This  morning  when  the  boys 
came  in,  they  found  that  the  offerings  of  dishes 
of  rice  and  wreaths  of  flowers  had  already 
been  placed  around  the  old  idol. 

"  Thou  art  late,"  called  out  Chola's  father, 
who  was  sitting  on  the  wide  veranda  in  front 
of  the  great-room,  smoking  his  big  pipe  called 
a  hookah.  It  was  very  comfortable  on  the 
veranda,  for  all  around  it  hung  mats  of  woven 
grass  to  keep  off  the  burning  sun  and  yet  let 
in  a  cooling  breeze.  You  must  know  that 
India  is  a  very  hot  country  and  that  the  peo- 
ple make   use   of  all   sorts  of  things  to  make 


12  Our  Little  Hindu  Cousin 

them  comfortable.  That  is  why  the  houses 
all  have  broad  verandas,  where  the  folk  can 
sit  and  keep  much  cooler  than  within  doors. 

"  It  was  all  Jam's  fault,"  said  Chola,  and 
he  sat  beside  his  father  and  told  of  the  trick 
the  little  monkey  had  played  him,  which 
amused  his  father  very  much. 

"  You  have  spoilt  Jam,"  he  said.  "  Some 
day  he  will  have  to  be  sent  back  to  the  forest 
if  he  does  not  behave  himself  better." 

Meanwhile  the  steaming  dishes  of  food 
were  being  brought  from  the  cook-house  and 
placed  on  the  big  mat  in  the  centre  of  the 
great-room;  this  kept  the  grandmother  and 
the  boys'  mothers  busy,  for  they  had  to  serve 
three  separate  repasts,  one  for  the  men,  one 
for  the  children,  and  then,  last  of  all,  one  for 
themselves.  All  this  took  a  long  time,  for 
there  was  Harajar  Chumjeree,  Chola's  father, 
and  his  wife  Lalla,  and  Murree  Rao,  Chola's 
uncle,  and  his  wife,  and  his  son  Mahala,  and 


Chola  at  Home  13 

Mahala's  little  sister  Shriya,  and  the  grand- 
mother, and  several  cousins  and  cousins'  wid- 
ows. They  all  lived  in  the  big  stone  house, 
built  around  a  square  courtyard,  which  stood 
in  the  middle  of  a  large  garden  on  the  out- 
skirts of  the  beautiful  city  of  Lucknow. 

"  Oh,  grandmother,  give  us  the  fine  white 
rice  this  morning  with  the  beautiful  curry 
which  thou  hast  made!  None  other  tastes 
so  good  as  thine,"  said  Chola,  coaxingly,  as 
he  and  his  little  cousins  seated  themselves  on 
the  cleanly  swept  earthen  floor  of  the  great- 
room. 

"  Aha !  art  thou  young  rajahs  that  you 
should  eat  the  beautiful  rice  of  the  feast- 
days?"  said  the  old  lady,  as  she  bustled  back 
to  the  cook-room;  for  the  very  fine  rice  is 
costly,  and  not  usually  given  to  children  every 
time  they  ask  for  it.  Nevertheless,  the  old 
lady  was  always  pleased  when  they  praised  her 
curries,  and,  like  other  grandmothers  the  world 


14  Our  Little  Hindu  Cousin 

over,  she  quite  spoiled  her  little  grandsons. 
So,  presently,  she  came  back  with  a  big  bowl 
of  the  fine  white  rice  and  put  a  pile  of  it  on 
each  child's  plate,  taking  care  not  to  actually 
touch  the  plates  themselves,  and  then  she  made 
a  hole,  or  basin,  in  the  centre  of  each  pile  and 
filled  it  with  a  steaming  hot  curry.  This  is 
one  of  the  dishes  that  the  children  were  fond- 
est of  and  there  are  many  ways  of  preparing  it. 

This  curry  of  the  grandmother's  was  made 
of  several  kinds  of  vegetables,  and  was  very 
hot  and  spicy  indeed,  but  the  children  enjoyed 
it.  After  this  they  had  flat  cakes  of  fried 
meal,  and  then  a  preserve  of  fruit. 

"  Here  is  milk  from  the  new  goats,"  said 
the  grandmother,  placing  a  big  bowl  of  goat's 
milk  before  each  child;  "but  hasten,  little 
ones,  for  I  and  the  mother  and  Shriya  go  with 
my  son  to  the  Bazaar  to-day.  There  are  many 
things  to  buy  for  the  wedding  of  my  grand- 
daughter,"   continued   the   old   lady,   who   was 


Chola  at  Home  15 

devoted  to  her  grandchildren  and  really  ruled 
the  house. 

"  Oh,  take  me,  too,"  cried  Chola.  "  There 
are  no  lessons  at  the  school;  for  thou  knowest 
it  is  a  holiday,  and  Mahala  goes  with  his 
father  to  visit  a  cousin.     I  will  be  all  alone." 


CHAPTER    II 

A    DAY   IN   THE    BAZAAR 

So  it  was  settled  that  Chola  should  go,  too. 
A  little  later  the  "  ekka  ghurrie  "  was  ready 
in  the  courtyard,  and  they  all  stowed  them- 
selves away  in  it  somehow.  The  "  ekka  ghur- 
rie "  is  a  funny  kind  of  carriage  made  of  bam- 
boo poles  hung  between  two  high  wheels,  with 
a  red  canopy  to  keep  off  the  sun.  It  was 
drawn  by  a  little  pony,  and  the  shafts  were 
fastened  to  a  stout  bamboo  stick,  across  his 
high  pointed  collar. 

They  found  themselves  rather  a  tight  fit, 
for  the  "  ekka  "  was  small ;  and  the  coolie, 
or  servant,  who  was  driving  had  to  balance 
himself  as  best  he  could  on  one  of  the  shafts. 
Nobody  minded  this,  however,  and  away  went 

16 


A  Day  in  the  Bazaar  17 

the  little  pony  along  the  dusty  road,  past  gar- 
dens and  many  low,  rambling  two-storied 
houses  very  much  like  their  own. 

Everything  looked  wonderfully  bright  and 
gay.  Many  of  the  houses  were  painted  a  bril- 
liant pink  or  yellow  with  bright  green  veran- 
das; and  the  people,  too,  were  dressed  so 
gaily  in  all  kinds  of  colours,  though  some  of 
them  wore  pure  white,  which  looked  nice  and 
cool  in  the  blazing  sun. 

Soon  they  passed  the  great  gate  of  the  city 
and  came  into  the  busy  streets  of  the  Ba- 
zaar. 

In  all  Eastern  cities  there  is  a  part  called 
the  Bazaar,  where  are  all  the  shops;  and  in  a 
large  city  like  Lucknow  the  Bazaar  is  made 
up  of  many  streets  of  nothing  but  shops. 

All  the  fruit  and  vegetable  shops  are  in  a 
street  to  themselves;  all  the  workers  in  brass 
and  other  metals  in  another.  You  will  find  the 
silk  merchants  in  one  street;    and,   in  still  an- 


18  Our  Little  Hindu  Cousin 

other,  all  the  shops  that  sell  cotton  goods,  — 
the  pretty  flowered  kinds  stamped  with  tinsel 
as  well  as  plain  white,  for  every  one  in  India 
wears  light  cotton  or  silk  clothes. 

When  they  came  to  the  street  where  the  silk 
merchants  were,  the  grandmother  and  Shriya 
and  her  mother  got  out;  for  it  was  here  they 
were  going  to  buy  Shriya's  pretty  silk  dresses 
and  long  veils,  and  other  pretty  things. 

"  I  would  rather  go  with  thee,  father,"  said 
Chola,  so  he  and  his  father  turned  into  an- 
other street.  Here  were  the  shops  where  won- 
derful gold  and  silver  work  was  made  and 
sold;  and  where  precious  stones  were  set  into 
all  kinds  of  rich  and  curious  jewelry.  The 
shop  of  Chola's  father  was  one  of  the  largest 
in  the  street,  though  we  would  think  it  very 
small.  It  was  more  like  a  big  cupboard  in 
the  side  of  the  street  than  anything  else;  and 
he  could  reach  nearly  everything  in  it  without 
getting  up   from  his  seat.     The  shop  had  no 


A  Day  in  the  Bazaar  19 

name  or  sign  over  it,  nor  were  there  any  win- 
dows, while  no  doors  were  needed  because  the 
entire  front  was  open  to  the  street,  so  that 
customers  could  look  in  to  see  if  there  was 
anything  they  wished  to  buy  without  coming 
inside. 

Chola  sat  on  his  heels  watching  his  father 
as  he  sat  cross-legged  on  a  carpet  spread  on 
the  floor,  putting  a  beautiful  blue  turquoise 
into  the  setting  of  a  silver  necklace.  Near  to 
his  elbow  was  a  low  table  on  which  were  piles 
of  precious  stones.  He  liked  to  come  with  his 
father  to  the  Bazaar  and  watch  him  make  the 
gold  and  silver  into  beautiful  things.  When 
Chola  was  older  he  would  come  every  day 
to  the  Bazaar,  and  his  father  would  teach  him 
to  be  a  silversmith  like  himself.  Every  little 
Hindu  boy  follows  the  same  trade  as  his 
father. 

The  Hindus  love  jewelry  of  all  kinds,  and 
both   men    and  women   wear   quantities   of   it. 


20  Our  Little  Hindu  Cousin 

In  fact  much  of  their  wealth  is  often  put  into 
the  form  of  necklaces,  rings,  and  bracelets, 
which  the  women  wear  all  the  time.  The  Hin- 
dus think  this  is  the  safest  way  to  keep  their 
wealth.  So  you  see  why  the  jewellers  do  such 
a  big  trade  in  India. 

"  Father,  there's  a  customer,"  whispered 
Chola,  but  Harajar  paid  not  the  slightest  at- 
tention to  a  tall  man  in  a  long  silk  robe,  with 
a  big  turban  on  his  head,  who  stopped  to  look 
in  the  shop.  A  Hindu  merchant  usually  thinks 
it  beneath  his  dignity  to  ask  any  one  to  buy 
his  wares. 

Presently  the  tall  man  said:  "Are  you 
happy?  " 

"  I  am  happy,"  answered  Harajar. 

This  is  the  Hindu  way  of  saying  "  How 
do  you  do?  " 

Harajar  then  offered  the  tall  man  a  seat  on 
the  rug,  and  his  own  hookah  to  smoke,  which 
is  the  polite  thing  to  do.     The  would-be  cus- 


A  Day  in  the  Bazaar  21 

tomer  puffed  away  at  the  great  pipe  for  some 
minutes,  meanwhile  saying  never  a  word.  Soon 
he  began  to  pay  compliments;  and  then  he 
looked  at,  and  priced,  nearly  everything  in  the 
shop  before  he  asked  the  price  of  the  gold- 
mounted  dagger  on  which  he  had  had  his  eye 
all  the  time.     Then  came  the  bargaining. 

Chola  knew  that  this  would  take  all  the 
morning,  so  he  slipped  away  to  a  shop  a  little 
way  down  the  street,  where  a  big  yellow  and 
red  awning  hung  across  the  roadway. 

Here  were  beautiful  brass  ornaments  of  all 
kinds,  lamps,  vases,  pitchers,  and  what  not, 
and  Chola  peered  among  these  for  a  sight  of 
his  little  friend  Nao.  Only  Nao's  father  was 
in  sight,  and  he  sat  dozing  over  his  hookah. 
Farther  down  the  street,  however,  Chola  spied 
Nao's  embroidered  cap  bobbing  about  between 
two  big  camels  laden  with  great  bales  of 
cloth. 

Nao  as  quickly  caught  sight  of  his   friend 


22  Our  Little  Hindu  Cousin 

Chola,  and  came  running  up  at  once.  "  Oh, 
Chola,"  he  cried,  as  he  greeted  his  little  friend 
by  touching  his  forehead  and  the  palm  of  his 
right  hand,  "  let  us  go  to  where  the  caravans 
gather  about  the  city  gate;  the  man  with  the 
camels  has  just  told  me  that  all  the  camels 
stopped  there  to  rest  on  entering  the  city." 

"  Nay,"  said  Chola,  "  there  are  wild,  rough 
doings  among  the  strange  men  who  come  down 
from  the  hills  with  the  camels.  I  have  heard 
my  father  say  so." 

"  Oh,  go  play  with  thy  sister,  then,  I  will 
go  alone,"  said  Nao,  who  made  out  as  if  he 
would  turn  away. 

"  I  am  not  afraid,  I,  too,  will  go  and  talk 
with  the  camel  men,"  Chola  answered  with 
spirit.  No  little  Hindu  boy  likes  to  be  told 
to  stay  at  home  with  the  girls,  because  in  his 
country  it  is  a  sad  fact  that  little  girls  are  not 
thought  as  much  of  as  boys,  nor  do  they  have 
so  good  a  time. 


A  Day  in  the  Bazaar  23 

The  two  boys  slipped  away  through  the 
crowded  street,  dodging  between  lumbering 
wagons  drawn  by  oxen,  called  buffaloes,  and 
pushing  their  way  through  a  crowd  of  folk 
dressed  in  a  great  variety  of  costumes,  all  in 
gay  colours  and  with  queer  gaudy  turbans  on 
their  heads.  The  turban  forms  a  very  impor- 
tant part  of  the  dress  of  the  Hindu,  and  Chola 
could  tell  by  the  colour  and  shape  of  each 
man's  turban  to  just  what  caste  each  man  be- 
longed and  what  business  he  was  in.  There 
are  many  of  these  castes,  or  classes,  of  Hindu 
people,  and  each  caste  keeps  strictly  to  itself. 
A  person  of  one  caste  must  not  marry  outside 
his  caste;  or  touch  persons  of  another  caste, 
even;  or  eat  with  them,  or  have  any  friendly 
dealings  with  them.  Not  only  that,  but  you 
would  think  it  very  tiresome,  would  you  not, 
to  have  to  remember  not  to  sit  next  to  that 
person  or  touch  this  one?  And  that  you  must 
find   out   who   cooked   your    food   before   you 


24  Our  Little  Hindu  Cousin 

might  eat  it?  But  this  is  what  our  little 
Hindu  cousins  have  to  think  of  all  the  time. 

Many  of  the  men  carried  umbrellas  of 
bright  colours.  Once  only  very  high  and 
mighty  people  in  Hindustan  carried  umbrellas, 
or  rather  had  them  carried  over  them  by  a 
servant,  but  now  nearly  every  one  carries  one; 
—  and  they  are  needed  in  a  country  where  the 
sun  shines  hotly  all  the  year  round.  For  this 
same  reason  the  streets  are  nearly  covered  in 
by  great  spreading  awnings  drawn  from  one 
side  to  the  other  and  forming  a  sort  of  roof. 

Just  for  fun  the  two  boys  got  in  the  way  of 
the  "  bhisti,"  or  water-carrier,  so  that  the 
stream  of  water  from  the  goatskin  bag,  with 
which  he  was  watering  the  dusty  street,  might 
play  on  their  bare  feet;  but  when  he  turned  it 
toward  their  heads,  they  ran  away  laughing. 

"  See !  there  must  be  a  juggler  over  there," 
said  Chola,  pointing  to  a  circle  of  people 
around  an  old  man  with  a  gray  beard. 


A  Day  in  the  Bazaar  25 

The  two  boys  pushed  into  the  circle  until 
they  were  near  enough  to  see  what  wonderful 
things  the  man  was  doing.  He  had  just  put 
a  few  seeds  into  the  dust  under  a  small  mat. 
"  Behold,"  he  cried,  "  there  will  grow  up  a 
beautiful  flower,"  and,  sure  enough,  as  he 
lifted  up  the  mat,  there  appeared  a  pot,  and 
from  the  pot  there  began  to  grow  up  a  stem 
and  green  leaves,  until  finally  it  became  a  tall 
plant  from  which  unfolded  a  great  red  flower. 
All  at  once,  as  the  juggler  held  the  plant  up 
for  every  one  to  see,  the  flower  changed  into 
a  cage  containing  two  white  doves,  and,  when 
the  door  of  the  cage  was  opened,  the  doves 
came  out  and  began  to  circle  about  the  jug- 
gler's head.  At  this  there  was  a  murmur  of 
wonder  and  surprise  from  the  crowd.  The 
doves  entered  the  cage  again;  but,  as  the  peo- 
ple looked,  the  cage  and  doves  and  the  red 
flower  and  the  plant  with  the  green  leaves  all 
vanished;    and  the  juggler  stood  on  his  little 


26  Our  Little  Hindu  Cousin 

grass  mat  with  absolutely  empty  hands.  Noth- 
ing could  have  been  hidden  about  him,  for  he 
had  on  no  clothes  except  a  cloth  wrapped 
around  his  waist. 

"  Is  it  not  wonderful?"  whispered  Nao. 
"There  be  people  who  say  it  is  magic;  and 
that  there  are  no  such  things  in  sight  as  the 
flower  and  the  doves,  and  that  it  is  all  the 
power  of  the  eye  of  the  old  man  that  makes 
other  people  see  things  as  he  wants  them  to 
see  them." 

"  Nay,  it  is  real  magic,  and  the  flower  did 
grow  up  before  us,"  said  Chola.  It  would 
be  hard  for  any  one  to  believe  otherwise;  for 
it  is  true  that  the  jugglers  of  India  do  the  most 
wonderful  tricks,  far  more  wonderful  than 
those  we  see  in  our  own  country,  and  no 
stranger  can  really  tell  how  they  are  done. 

"How  will  you  find  your  camel-man?" 
asked  Chola,  when  finally  the  boys  came  to 
the  great  square  where  the  caravans  camped. 


A  Day  in  the  Bazaar  27 

Everywhere  were  camels  and  horses  and  men 
in  strange  costumes. 

"  He  said  he  would  be  near  the  great  gate," 
said  Nao,  as  he  and  Chola  crept  in  and  around 
the  big  camels  and  under  them,  constantly 
being  scolded  by  the  men  for  getting  in  their 
way.  Finally  Nao  spied  his  friend  sitting 
lazily  smoking  in  the  shade  of  the  gateway, 
while  he  watched  his  camels  being  unloaded. 

"  Welcome,  oh,  little  friends,"  said  the  big, 
bluff  fellow.  "  I  suppose  it  is  no  use  to  ask 
thee  to  share  my  dinner?  "  he  continued,  point- 
ing to  the  big  dish  of  boiled  rice,  cabbage,  and 
goat's  meat  which  one  of  his  stable  boys  had 
just  brought  him. 

The  food  smelt  very  good,  but  Chola  and 
Nao  shook  their  heads.  They  knew  by  the 
blue  turban  and  dress  of  their  new  friend  that 
he  was  a  Mohammedan,  and  they  would  rather 
have  starved  than  eaten  food  with  him;  but 
they  were  quite  willing  to  squat  beside  him  in 


28  Our  Little  Hindu  Cousin 

the  dust  in  true  Hindu  boy  fashion,  and  listen 
to  his  strange  tales  of  the  far-away  countries 
which  he  had  visited,  as  he  ate  his  meal  out 
of  the  big  bowl.  They  heard  how  he  had 
come  from  the  great  plains  of  China,  across 
the  snow-covered  mountains  of  the  north  — 
the  great  Himalayas,  the  highest  mountains  in 
the  world ;  —  and  how  his  camels  had  waded 
through  snow-drifts  up  to  their  necks.  He 
told  them  marvellous  tales  of  the  great  cities 
of  Delhi  and  Lahore,  with  their  marble  pal- 
aces and  beautiful  gardens;  and  of  the  great 
rice-fields  of  Burma.  Sometimes  he  had  crossed 
the  great  desert  going  toward  the  west,  and 
had  seen  the  splendid  city  of  Bombay,  and 
from  there  had  gone  on  down  the  coast  where 
the  tall  palm-trees  grow.  He  and  his  cara- 
van had  crossed  India  many  times,  carrying 
merchandise  from  one  part  of  the  country  to 
another.  The  camel-man  talked  on  until  he 
had  finished  eating  and  was  ready  for  a  nap. 


A  Day  in  the  Bazaar  29 

"  It  must  be  fine  fun  to  ride  a  camel,"  said 
Nao,  as  he  and  Chola  made  their  way  back  to 
the  Bazaar. 

"  I  think  it  is  much  nicer  to  ride  a  big  ele- 
phant, as  my  Uncle  Achmed  does  when  he 
goes  about  his  lumber  yards,"  answered  Chola. 
"  But,  Nao,  the  smell  of  thy  friend's  dinner 
has  made  me  hungry.  Let  us  buy  some  sweet- 
meats," he  continued,  darting  across  the  street 
to  a  little  booth  where  there  were  bowls  and 
baskets  filled  with  all  kinds  of  sweet,  sticky 
things  to  eat  that  not  only  Hindu  children  like, 
but  all  the  grown-ups  as  well.  When  a  Hindu 
wants  a  real  treat,  he  eats  as  many  sweetmeats 
as  he  can. 

Just  as  the  boys  got  to  the  booth,  a  big  bull 
buffalo  came  snorting  along.  He  evidently 
wanted  sweets,  too,  for  he  stuck  his  head  under 
the  awning  of  the  little  shop  and  took  a  big 
mouthful  of  preserved  fruit  from  one  of  the 
baskets,  at  the  same  time  upsetting  the  contents 


30  Our  Little  Hindu  Cousin 

of  another  basket  over  the  owner  of  the  little 
shop,  who  was  dozing  among  his  wares. 

"  Oh,  the  thief!"  cried  the  man,  jumping 
up  angrily,  though  he  dared  not  do  anything 
to  the  animal;  for  it  was  one  of  the  sacred 
bulls  from  a  near-by  temple.  They  were 
allowed  to  wander  through  the  streets,  though 
they  often  robbed  the  shops  in  this  mean 
fashion. 

"  'Tis  no  laughing  matter,"  said  the  man, 
turning  to  the  boys,  who  could  not  help  laugh- 
ing at  his  discomfiture. 

"  Do  not  be  cross,"  replied  Chola,  as  he 
and  Nao  helped  to  pick  up  the  scattered 
sweets.  "  We  are  a  different  kind  of  cus- 
tomer from  the  buffalo.  How  many  '  cow- 
ries '  do  you  want  for  this  almond  paste  ?  Not 
too  many,  mind  you,"  he  continued,  with  an 
eye  for  a  bargain,  "  for  we  helped  you  save 
the  others." 

"  And  eaten  some,  too,   I  warrant,"  grum- 


BUYING    SWEETS    IN    THE    BAZAAR. 


A  Day  in  the  Bazaar  31 

bled  the  man,  still  in  a  bad  humour,  as  he 
wrapped  up  the  sweets  in  a  large  green  leaf 
and  gave  it  to  Chola,  who  paid  him  with  some 
tiny  shells,  threaded  on  a  string,  which  he  took 
from  the  wallet  he  carried  in  his  dress.  These 
cowrie  shells  are  used  for  small  pieces  of  money 
and  are  carried  on  strings.  As  you  may  imag- 
ine, each  shell  is  not  of  a  great  value. 

"  Let  us  eat  our  sweets  here,"  said  Chola, 
squatting  in  the  shadow  of  a  wall;  and,  with 
his  finger,  drawing  a  circle  round  them  in  the 
dust.  This  was  intended  as  a  sort  of  a  bound- 
ary-line to  keep  any  low-caste  person  from 
coming  too  near  them  while  they  were  eating. 
The  boys  greatly  enjoyed  their  candies,  which 
they  thought  all  the  better  for  being  made  with 
ghu,  a  sort  of  rancid  butter. 

Just  as  they  were  finishing  the  last  bit,  some 
one  came  up  and  touched  Nao  on  the  shoulder. 

"  Who  comes  here  to  make  my  food  un- 
clean, "  he  cried,  jumping  up  angrily. 


32  Our  Little  Hindu  Cousin 

"Hush!  It  is  a  little  Sahib.  Doubtless 
he  knows  no  better,"  said  Chola,  as  he  looked 
around  and  saw  an  English  boy  standing  by. 

"  I  think  those  things  look  better  than  they 
taste,"  the  boy  said,  smiling,  as  he  pointed  to 
the  sweets;  "but  I  meant  no  harm.  I  only 
wanted  to  ask  if  you  could  tell  me  where 
Colonel  Scott  lives.  I  think  I  have  lost  my 
way." 

"  Ah,  every  one  knows  the  Colonel  Sahib; 
but  the  house  is  far  from  here;  in  the  street 
with  the  great  trees  near  the  Chutter  Munzil," 
said  Chola. 

"  Where  the  roofs  look  like  big  gold  um- 
brellas, I  know,"  said  the  English  boy.  "  My 
name  is  Harry,  and  Colonel  Scott  is  my  father. 
My  mother  and  I  have  just  come  from  Eng- 
land; but  my  papa  has  been  here  a  long  time. 
While  he  was  buying  something  in  one  of  the 
shops,  I  followed  a  man  who  had  a  lot  of 
performing  birds;    and  the  first  thing  I  knew 


A  Day  in  the  Bazaar  33 

I  had  lost  my  way."  Harry  rattled  away,  glad 
to  find  some  one  to  talk  to. 

Chola  could  understand  him  fairly  well,  for 
he  had  been  taught  a  little  English  at  his 
school. 

"  Yonder  stands  a  '  rickshaw/  It  will  take 
you  quickly  to  your  home,"  said  Chola,  proud 
to  be  able  to  talk  to  a  little  Sahib. 

The  little  Hindu  boys  hailed  the  "  rick- 
shaw," and,  nearly  bursting  with  importance, 
bargained  with  the  man  who  pulled  it  to  take 
the  little  Sahib  home. 

"  Perhaps  I  shall  see  you  again,  for  I  am 
going  to  live  here  now,"  said  Harry,  as  he 
thanked  the  boys  and  climbed  into  the  "  rick- 
shaw," which  looked  like  a  big  perambulator. 
Away  the  man  went  with  it  at  a  lively  trot, 
with  Harry  waving  his  cap  in  the  air  as  a 
good-bye  to  his  new-found   friends. 

Chola  could  talk  of  nothing  but  the  "  little 


34  Our  Little  Hindu  Cousin 

Sahib  "  as  they  jogged  home  in  the  "  ekka  " 
in  the  dusk  of  the  evening. 

There  are  many  English  people  in  India, 
because  it  is  now  a  part  of  the  British  Empire. 
So  it  is  not  surprising  that  Chola  and  Harry 
should  meet  in  this  way  and  be  able  to  talk 
to  each  other.  Mahala  was  very  much  dis- 
appointed because  he  had  not  been  there,  too, 
when  he  heard  Chola  tell  of  his  adventures  as 
they  ate  their  supper. 


CHAPTER    III 


THE    CHILDREN'S    HOLIDAY 


"  Chola,  art  thou  there?"  said  little  Nao 
the  next  morning,  peeping  in  between  the  mats 
of  the  veranda.  Nao  lived  in  a  pretty  pink 
house  next  to  Chola's,  and  their  gardens 
joined;  so  he  and  the  two  cousins  were  great 
playmates. 

"  Yes,  but  I'm  busy,"  said  Chola,  without 
looking  around.  The  barber  had  come  to 
shave  his  father,  and  Chola  had  begged  to  be 
allowed  to  hold  for  his  father  the  little  look- 
ing-glass which  the  barber  had  brought  with 
him,  as  he  reclined  on  a  rug  while  the  barber 
shaved  him.  The  barber  made  his  rounds 
from  house  to  house  each  day,  carrying  the 
tools  of  his  trade  with  him;    and  he  not  only 

35 


36  Our  Little  Hindu  Cousin 

shaved  his  patrons'  faces,  but  their  heads  as 
well. 

"  I  only  wanted  to  tell  thee  that  there  is 
a  man  just  outside  the  gate  with  a  basket," 
replied  Nao,  in  a  tantalizing  way;  "  but  if 
thou  must  help  the  barber  —  " 

"  There  are  plenty  of  men  in  the  street 
with  baskets,"  returned  Chola;  but  he  was 
beginning  to  be  interested. 

"  But  this  man  carries  a  flute,  '  answered 
his  little  friend,  smiling. 

"  Oh,  it  is  the  snake-charmer!  "  cried  Chola, 
jumping  up. 

"  I  see  thou  art  tired  of  playing  barber. 
Give  me  the  mirror,  and  thou  mayst  run  away," 
said  his  father. 

Out  in  the  street  the  boys  found  the  man 
dressed  all  in  bright  pink,  with  a  basket  on 
his  arm.  He  had  seated  himself  down  in  the 
shade  of  a  tree,  and  a  crowd  of  children  had 
gathered  around  him. 


The  Children's  Holiday  37 

Presently  he  began  to  whistle  on  a  little  pipe 
or  flute.  "  Look,"  whispered  Nao,  as  a  snake's 
head  pushed  up  the  lid  of  the  basket  and  crept 
slowly  out.  Then  another  and  another  fol- 
lowed, until  several  snakes  were  crawling  and 
wriggling  around  in  the  dust,  all  keeping  time 
to  the  music  of  the  flute.  Soon  the  snakes 
began  to  climb  and  crawl  all  over  the  man, 
winding  themselves  around  his  neck  and  arms 
to  the  great  delight  of  the  children.  Finally 
one  of  the  snakes  wound  itself  around  the 
man's  neck;  and  one  around  each  arm;  after 
which  the  man  piped  them  back  into  their 
basket. 

Then  he  spread  the  handkerchief  on  the 
ground,  which  was  a  sign  for  the  children  to 
pay  for  the  show.  This  was  enough  to  send 
most  of  the  children  flying  away;  for,  though 
they  had  enjoyed  the  performance,  many  of 
them  were   not  willing  to   pay   for  it.      Both 


38  Our  Little  Hindu  Cousin 

Chola  and  Nao,  however,  threw  some  cowrie 
shells  on  the  handkerchief  before  they  left. 

"  May  good  luck  attend  thee,  my  little  mas- 
ters," said  the  snake-charmer  with  a  deep 
salaam.  Then  he  picked  up  his  basket  again 
and  went  piping  down  the  street  to  find  an- 
other audience. 

"  Thou  hast  on  thy  yellow  dress.  Hast 
thou  been  to  the  temple?"  asked  Nao,  as  he 
and  Chola  came  back  into  the  garden. 

"  No,  I  wait  for  Mahala.  Where  can  he 
be?"  said  Chola,  running  back  into  the  court- 
yard. 

Mahala  was  there,  busily  washing  out  the 
inkstand  which  he  always  carried  to  school, 
while  Shriya  hung  out  of  one  of  the  zenana 
windows  talking  to  him. 

"  I  cleaned  my  inkstand  yesterday,  oh,  tardy 
one !  "  exclaimed  Chola. 

"  Mine,  too,  is  ready,"  said  Mahala,  giving 


The  Children's  Holiday  39 

it  a  final  polish  as  he  spoke.  "  Now  we  will 
be  off." 

To-day  was  the  great  holiday  for  the  chil- 
dren. It  was  the  festival  of  Sarasvati,  the 
Hindu  Goddess  of  Learning,  who  is  supposed 
to  be  the  especial  guardian  of  children. 

The  boys  were  going  to  the  temple  to  lay 
their  inkstands  before  the  queer  image  of  the 
Goddess  of  Learning,  as  was  the  custom  on 
this  holiday  festival. 

"  Thou  art  not  keeping  the  holiday,"  called 
out  Nao,  looking  up  at  Shriya. 

"  No,  indeed,"  answered  the  little  girl,  shak- 
ing her  head.  "  I  do  not  want  to  be  a  widow 
some  day;  and  the  grandmother  says  this  is 
what  would  happen  if  I  should  read  books 
and  learn  to  write  while  I'm  little." 

The  boys  laughed;  and  then  ran  out  to  join 
the  crowd  of  little  boys,  who  were  making 
their  way  toward  the  temples,  all  dressed  in 
bright  yellow  in  honour  of  the  day,  some  car- 


40  Our  Little  Hindu  Cousin 

rying  their  inkstands  stuck  in  their  belts,  others 
swinging  them  in  their  hands. 

"What  shall  we  do  to  amuse  ourselves ?  " 
asked  Mahala,  after  they  had  dutifully  laid 
their  inkstands  before  the  queer  image  of  Sa- 
rasvati. 

"  I  know,"  answered  Chola.  "  We  will  find 
the  potter  and  beg  a  bit  of  clay  from  him. 
It  will  be  fun  to  make  some  toys  for  our- 
selves." 

The  boys  turned  down  a  street;  and  there, 
under  a  big  tree  on  the  river-bank,  the  potter 
was  at  work  with  piles  of  damp  clay  around 
him.  As  usual,  a  lot  of  children  were  gath- 
ered about  him.  They  loved  to  watch  him 
take  the  clay  and  put  it  on  a  revolving  wooden 
wheel  before  him  and  mould  dishes  and  jugs 
and  bowls  of  all  sorts  and  shapes.  Each 
neighbourhood  has  a  potter  whose  business  it 
is  to  make  the  ware  for  that  village;  and  he 
does  a  good  trade,  for  it  is  the  custom  among 


The  Children's  Holiday  41 

many  of  the  people  to  throw  away  their  dishes 
after  each  meal.  This  of  course  means  that 
they  must  have  new  ones  all  the  time. 

"Eh!  well,  thou  wouldst  have  clay  for  thy 
toys?"  said  the  gray-bearded  old  potter,  when 
the  boys  explained  what  they  wanted.  "  Here 
it  is  then,"  he  said,  good-naturedly,  and  gave 
them  each  a  lump  of  the  wet  clay.  Carrying 
their  treasure  carefully  the  boys  hurried  back 
to  Chola's  garden. 

Shriya  was  there  in  a  shady  nook,  swinging 
Chola's  baby  brother  gently  as  he  lay  in  his 
cradle.  His  cradle  was  a  kind  of  little  ham- 
mock, swung  between  two  bamboo  supports, 
and,  as  Shriya  swayed  it  gently  backward  and 
forward,  she  was  singing: 

"  Here  is  a  handful  of  white  rice, 
Here  is  a  bit  of  sweet, 
Here  is  a  tamarind  ripe  and  nice, 
A  curry  for  thee  and  me." 

"The  little  one  is  fretful.  He  is  not  well; 
and  it  may  be  that  he  has  a  fever,  the  mother 


42  Our  Little  Hindu  Cousin 

fears,"  said  Shriya,  stopping  her  song  as  the 
boys  came  up. 

"  I  will  make  him  a  horse  to  play  with," 
and  Chola  seated  himself  and  began  to  mould 
the  clay  as  he  had  seen  the  old  potter  do. 

"  I  shall  make  a  buffalo  like  the  sacred  one 
that  stole  the  sweets  yesterday,"  said  Nao, 
falling  to  work. 

"Tush!  this  only  sticks  to  my  fingers!" 
exclaimed  Mahala,  impatiently,  after  a  few 
minutes'  work. 

"  Give  it  to  me  and  let  me  try,"  said  Shriya, 
eagerly. 

"  Thou  canst  take  it;  and  a  good  riddance, 
too,"  and  Mahala  held  out  a  pair  of  dirty 
hands. 

"  There !  "  cried  Chola,  "  here  is  thy  horse, 
little  one ;  but  wait,  I  must  put  a  saddle  on 
him,"  he  said,  as  the  baby  crowed  and  put  out 
his  hands. 


The  Children's  Holiday  43 

"A  horse,  indeed,"  laughed  Mahala;  "it 
looks  as  much  like  a  horse  as  Nao's  buffalo. 

"  I  couldn't  make  the  horns  stick  on  mine," 
grumbled  Nao. 

"  And  thou  hast  forgotten  thy  buffalo's  tail, 
too !  "  Chola  laughed,  heartily. 

"  But,  look,"  he  continued,  "  Shriya's  are 
the  best  of  all." 

Shriya's  nimble  little  fingers  had  indeed 
made  the  two  little  dolls  which  she  had 
moulded  look  very  lifelike. 

"  I  shall  put  a  bit  of  real  cloth  on  their 
heads  for  veils,"  she  said. 

"  We  will  put  them  here  in  the  sun  to  dry," 
said  Chola,  admiring  his  horse  as  he  held  it 
up. 

"  Ah,  and  if  we  leave  them  here,  perhaps 
1  Sir  Banas  '  will  come  to  the  garden  to-night 
and  make  them  all  alive,"  whispered  little 
Shriya,  mysteriously. 

The    children    believed    that    there    was    a 


44  Our  Little  Hindu  Cousin 

strange  being  who  came  during  the  night  and 
made  their  dolls  walk  and  talk  as  if  they  were 
alive. 

Later  on  all  the  family  went  to  the  big 
square  near  by,  where  games  were  going  on; 
and  everybody  took  a  ride  on  the  big  "  merry- 
go-round,"  which  was  very  much  like  the  ones 
we  have.  Shriya's  father  put  her  up  into  one 
of  the  swinging  seats,  all  red  and  gold,  and 
took  his  seat  in  another,  for  the  grown  people 
were  as  fond  of  riding  in  a  merry-go-round 
as  the  children.  The  boys  were  already  hold- 
ing on  tight,  each  in  one  of  the  funny  little 
swings;  and  away  they  went,  the  long  ends 
of  their  turbans  flying  behind  them,  until  they 
were  too  dizzy  to  see.  But  this  is  the  fun  of 
a  merry-go-round  the  world  over.  Then  they 
went  home  merrily  in  the  warm,  dusky  twi- 
light, very  happy,  with  their  hands  and  mouths 
sticky  with  sweetmeats. 

One  evening,  not  long  after  this,  as  Chola 


The  Children's  Holiday  45 

and  Mahala  came  home  from  school,  Shriya 
met  them  at  the  garden  gate  with  a  very  sol- 
emn face. 

"  See,"  she  whispered  to  Chola,  "  the  priest 
from  the  temple  sits  there  talking  with  thy 
father.  He  says  the  only  way  to  make  thy 
little  brother  well  is  to  take  him  to  Benares, 
that  he  may  be  bathed  in  the  holy  river." 

All  the  family  were  gathered  under  the  big 
tamarisk-tree  that  stood  in  the  centre  of  the 
garden.  It  was  their  custom  to  spread  mats 
on  the  brick  pavement  under  the  tree  and  sit 
there  after  the  evening  meal,  the  men  smoking 
their  big  hookahs,  while  the  women,  with  their 
faces  tightly  wrapped  in  long  veils,  sat  a  little 
back  of  them  gossiping  together.  As  the  chil- 
dren slipped  into  their  places,  everybody  was 
earnestly  watching  the  old  Brahmin  priest  who 
sat  there,  too,  looking  very  fine  in  his  pink 
turban  and  red  brocaded  silk  gown;  and  also 
looking  very  wise  as  he  drew  various  sorts  of 


46  Our  Little  Hindu  Cousin 

curious  lines  in  the  dust  about  him.  When 
he  had  finished  he  looked  up  and  said: 

"  It  is  indeed  the  will  of  the  gods  that  the 
little  one  be  taken  to  the  sacred  city." 

The  Ganges  is  the  most  important  river  in 
India,  and  the  Hindus  know  it  as  the  "  Sacred 
River."  They  think  that  their  sins  will  be 
washed  away  and  that  they  will  be  cured  of 
all  illness  if  they  will  but  bathe  in  its  waters 
and  drink  of  them. 

'"  It  is  well  said,"  answered  Harajar  Chum- 
jeree,  after  a  long  pause.  "  We  will  make 
the  pilgrimage  and  bathe  in  the  waters  of  the 
holy  river;  thus  will  the  child  be  made  well 
and  we  shall  achieve  merit." 

Chola's  baby  brother  had  not  been  well  for 
some  weeks.  His  mother  and  grandmother 
had  given  him  many  bitter  drinks  made  from 
various  healing  herbs  until  he  cried  and  would 
take  no  more  of  the  nasty  things,  just  as  chil- 
dren in  our  country  cry  over  their  medicine. 


The  Children's  Holiday  47 

His  mother  even  dressed  him  in  girl's  clothes, 
and  then  charms  were  brought  from  the  tem- 
ple written  on  pieces  of  paper,  and  Lalla,  the 
baby's  mother,  soaked  the  ink  off  the  bits  of 
paper  in  water  which  she  gave  the  baby  to 
drink.  Even  this  did  not  make  him  fat  and 
rosy.  So  it  was  this  evening  that  they  came 
to  decide  to  make  the  pilgrimage. 

"  But  first,"  went  on  the  wise  old  priest, 
"  there  must  be  made  an  offering  of  money 
and  a  white  calf  to  the  gods  of  the  temple." 
This  would  ensure  their  making  the  pilgrim- 
age safely.  The  Brahmins  are  very  cunning, 
however,  for  they  live  within  the  temple  and 
get  the  benefits  of  the  offerings  which  are  sent 
there. 

"  Ah,  truly,  the  white  calf  is  not  forgotten," 
muttered  the  old  grandmother  behind  her  veil, 
but  loud  enough  to  be  heard.  She  liked  to 
doctor  her  grandchildren  herself;  and  was 
rather  jealous  of  the  supposed  effects  of  the 


48  Our  Little  Hindu  Cousin 

Brahmin's  paper  charms.  She  and  the  priest 
had  many  hot  words  as  to  which  of  their  reme- 
dies was  the  best. 

"  Peace !  "  said  her  son;  "  it  is  right  to  obey 
the  gods." 

"  Shall  we  go  in  the  '  fire-wagons/  father?  " 
whispered  Chola.  He  thought  the  "  fire-wag- 
ons," as  they  called  the  railway  trains,  were 
the  most  wonderful  and  terrible  things  in  the 
world. 

"  I  like  not  this  flying  over  the  ground  with 
a  great  noise,"  answered  his  father.  "  But  it 
will  take  us  quickly  and  at  less  cost  than  if  we 
travelled  by  road." 

"  Indeed  I  shall  not  ride  in  those  '  devil-wag- 
ons !  '  "  cried  the  grandmother,  "  nor  shall  the 
son  of  my  son"  (meaning  her  grandson). 
"  Do  you  wish  him  to  die  before  he  can  bathe 
in  the  holy  river?  " 

"  In  my  young  days  there  were  none  of 
these  fire-spitting  things  rushing  all  over  our 


The  Children's  Holiday  49 

country,"  she  continued,  throwing  back  her 
veil  in  her  excitement;  "  people  were  content 
to  ride  in  their  wagons  and  palanquins." 

Harajar  Chumjeree  was  easy-going,  and  the 
mother  cared  only  to  start  as  soon  as  might 
be;  so  the  old  lady  had  her  own  way,  and 
it  was  settled  that  they  should  travel  in  the 
big,  slow-moving  ox-wagon,  while  she  should 
be  carried  in  her  own  special  palanquin. 


CHAPTER    IV 

THE    CHILDREN  TRAVEL   IN   THE   BIG   OX - 
WAGON 

The  next  day  everybody  in  the  house  began 
to  make  preparations  for  the  journey.  Not 
that  they  hurried  about  it  as  we  do.  No,  in- 
deed! Everything  was  done  very  leisurely, 
though  there  was  a  lot  of  talking  and  disput- 
ing and  the  giving  of  contrary,  orders.  At 
last,  however,  the  great  "  ruth  wagon"  drawn 
by  oxen,  was  ready  in  the  courtyard.  It  was 
a  heavy  and  ungainly  vehicle  with  solid  wooden 
wheels  and  a  canopy  closed  in  with  lattice-work 
and  curtains. 

The  old  porter  was  there,  directing  and 
scolding   the   servants   as   they  piled   the   rugs 

5° 


The  Children  in  the  Ox-wagon     51 

and  blankets  and  bags  of  food  and  pots  and 
pans  and  dishes  into  the  wagon.  Chola's 
father  and  mother  had  to  take  all  these  things 
with  them  on  the  journey  because  there  are 
no  hotels  at  which  they  might  stay,  only  camp- 
ing-places, or  "  paraos"  beside  the  roads, 
where  the  traveller  could  buy  his  food  if  need 
be  and  camp  for  the  night. 

It  was  a  wonder  there  was  any  room  left 
for  the  people,  but  they  were  all  finally  stowed 
away;  except  Mahala's  father,  who  was  to 
take  Harajar's  place  at  the  shop  in  the  Bazaar 
while  he  was  away,  and  the  many  cousins  who 
were  left  behind  to  look  after  the  house. 

There  was  quite  a  procession  when  at  last 
the  big  wagon  rumbled  out  through  the  gate- 
way. 

Behind  it  came  the  grandmother,  in  her 
"  dhoolie-dak,"  a  sort  of  a  litter,  or  easy-chair, 
swung  between  two  long  poles.  This  was  car- 
ried by  two  men,  one  in  front  and  one  behind, 


52  Our  Little  Hindu  Cousin 

who  rested  the  end  of  the  poles  on  their  shoul- 
ders. 

Besides  the  family  there  were  many  servants, 
and  several  others  walked  beside  the  slow- 
moving  wagon.  The  cook,  too,  went  with 
them. 

"  Good-bye !  "  shouted  little  Nao  from  his 
garden  wall  as  they  went  by. 

"  Good-bye !  "  called  out  Chola  and  Mahala 
to  him,  from  their  seats  in  front  beside  the 
driver.  The  boys  were  perfectly  happy  to  think 
of  all  the  new,  strange  sights  they  were  going 
to  see  along  the  road.  They  shouted  greetings 
to  their  friend  the  potter  as  they  passed  him, 
and  also  to  the  old  "  fakir"  smeared  all  over 
with  ashes,  who  sat  in  a  little  brick  hut  by  the 
bridge  and  pretended  to  make  wonderful  cures. 

"  This  is  more  fun  than  going  to  school, " 
said  Chola,  as  the  oxen  plodded  along  through 
clouds  of  dust.  The  young  folks  did  not  mind 
this,  however,  for  the  road  was  very  lively  with 


The  Children  in  the  Ox-wagon     53 

people  going  into  the  city,  some  in  bullock- 
carts,  some  in  big  wagons  like  their  own,  and 
there  were  many  on  foot  carrying  big  baskets 
on  their  heads,  while  beside  them  trudged  little 
solemn-faced,  dark-skinned  children. 

At  noontime  they  halted  for  a  rest  near  an 
orchard  full  of  flowering  fruit-trees,  where 
some  beautiful  peacocks  were  sunning  them- 
selves on  the  garden  walls,  spreading  out  their 
great  tails  and  strutting  about  These  lovely 
birds  are  found  nearly  everywhere  in  India, 
and  in  some  parts  run  quite  wild. 

"  There  is  a  '  Holy  Man,'  "  said  Mahala, 
pointing  to  a  man  who  was  sitting  cross-legged 
by  the  roadside,  with  only  a  cloth  wrapped 
around  his  waist.  His  long  matted  hair  hung 
on  his  shoulders,  and  he  was  saying  his  prayers 
with  the  help  of  a  rosary  of  beads  which  he 
continually  passed  through  his  hands. 

As  the  wagon  came  up,  a  young  man  who 
accompanied   the   "  Holy   Man "   ran   up   and 


54  Our  Little  Hindu  Cousin 

held  out  a  begging-bowl,  saying:  "Give,  oh, 
charitable  people,  to  this  Holy  One."  Chola's 
mother  threw  some  cakes  into  the  bowl  as  the 
wagon  stopped. 

"  We  will  become  beggars  ourselves  before 
we  reach  the  4  Sacred  City  '  if  we  are  going 
to  give  to  every  beggar  on  the  road,"  grum- 
bled Harajar.  "  They  are  as  thick  as  flies  in 
our  country." 

"  It  is  good  to  give  to  a  '  Holy  Man,'  "  said 
the  gentle  mother.  "  Maybe  he  will  pray  that 
our  babe  be  made  well;"  and  she  sighed  as 
she  looked  down  at  the  white  face  of  the  baby 
in  her  arms. 

No  country  in  the  world  has  so  many  beg- 
gars as  India.  Many  of  them  are  called 
"  Holy  Men "  because  they  do  nothing  but 
make  pilgrimages  from  one  sacred  place  to 
another,  living  solely  on  the  alms  that  are 
given  to  them. 

When  they  had  eaten  their  lunch,  the  young 


The  Children  in  the  Ox-wagon     55 

people  went  to  explore  the  garden  near  them. 
"  Perhaps  there  are  dogs,"  said  Mahala,  a 
little  fearfully,  but  they  forgot  about  dogs 
when  they  saw  a  thicket  of  sugar-cane  down 
by  a  stream.  "  Perhaps  we  can  buy  some  from 
the  man;  there  he  is  now  ploughing  by  the 
stream,"  said  Chola. 

"  I  will  give  you  some  of  the  sweet  cane, 
my  little  princelings,"  said  the  man,  "  if  you 
will  give  a  wreath  of  flowers  to  the  Sacred 
River  for  me,"  when  he  learned  that  the  boys 
were  on  their  way  to  Benares. 

The  farmer  stopped  his  oxen  in  the  shade, 
—  for  oxen  also  do  all  the  ploughing,  —  and 
began  to  cut  some  of  the  long  purple  stalks  of 
cane.  All  at  once  Mahala  cried  out,  and 
pulled  Chola  back,  and  there,  just  at  their  feet, 
was  a  pure  white  snake  crawling  out  from  the 
roots  of  the  cane.  It  flattened  out  its  head 
in  a  most  astonishing  fashion  when  it  saw 
them. 


56  Our  Little  Hindu  Cousin 

"Behold!  a  pure  white  cobra,"  cried  the 
farmer.  "  It  must  mean  good  luck  to  you,  my 
young  masters.  It  is  a  rare  sight  now-a-days 
to  see  one  of  these  white  cobras." 

The  children  salaamed  to  it  very  politely, 
though  they  were  careful  to  keep  at  a  good 
distance.  "  It  is  looking  for  water,"  said  the 
farmer,  as  he  took  a  long  stalk  of  cane  and 
gently  guided  it  down  to  the  stream.  The 
snake  is  another  sacred  animal  of  the  Hindus, 
and  they  would  not  kill  or  injure  one  for  any- 
thing. 

"  It  may  be  a  sign  that  the  babe  will  be 
healed,"  said  the  mother,  hopefully,  when  the 
children  came  back  with  their  sugar-cane  and 
told  about  the  wonderful  cobra.  As  they  were 
about  to  move  on  again,  they  saw  a  great 
cloud  of  dust  down  the  road.  "  It  is  an  ele- 
phant and  many  men,"  said  one  of  the  serv- 
ants. "  A  great  ruler,  doubtless,"  said  an- 
other, as  there  came  into  sight  a  man  on  horse- 


FIRST   THERE   CAME    A    BIG    ELEPHANT, 


The  Children  in  the  Ox-wagon     5y 

back  carrying  a  silk  banner  or  flag.  It  turned 
out  that  it  was  a  great  and  powerful  Rajah 
going  in  state  on  a  journey  to  visit  another 
Rajah,  or  ruler,  of  one  of  the  small  kingdoms 
or  states  of  which  modern  India  was  formerly 
made  up.     And  did  he  not  look  imposing! 

First  there  came  a  big  elephant,  all  dec- 
orated with  silk  and  gold  and  silver.  On  the 
elephant's  back  was  a  "  howdah"  which  is 
like  a  big  chair  with  a  canopy  over  it,  and 
in  this,  sitting  cross-legged,  was  the  Rajah,  — 
a  big,  fat  fellow  dressed  in  coloured  silks  and 
jewels,  with  a  great  diamond-set  plume  in  his 
turban.  The  fittings  of  this  "  howdah  "  were 
most  luxurious.  It  was  lined  and  carpeted 
with  expensive  silken  rugs,  for  the  making  of 
which  certain  castes  are  famous.  There  are 
many  kinds  of  rugs  in  India;  but  those  of 
woven  silk,  like  the  praying-rugs  of  the  tem- 
ples, and  those  upon  which  the  great  Rajahs 
sit  in  state,  are  the  most  beautiful  and  expen- 


58  Our  Little  Hindu  Cousin 

sive.  These  rug-makers  are  mostly  Moham- 
medans, a  religious  sect  entirely  different  from 
the  Hindus. 

Behind  the  "  howdah  "  stood  a  servant  hold- 
ing a  big  umbrella  of  fine  feathers  over  the 
Rajah's  head.  The  driver  sat  on  the  neck 
of  the  elephant  and  guided  the  big  beast  by 
prodding  him  on  one  side  or  the  other  with 
an  iron-shod  stick  or  goad. 

After  the  Rajah,  followed  many  men  on 
horseback,  all  in  fine  dress  and  carrying  lances 
and  banners  of  silk;  then  a  whole  troop  of 
servants  who  guarded  the  wagons  filled  with 
the  Rajah's  baggage  and  the  presents  he  was 
carrying  to  the  other  Rajah. 

11  Isn't  it  fine  to  ride  like  that  on  a  big  ele- 
phant !  "  whispered  Mahala  to  Chola,  as  the 
children  picked  flowers  by  the  roadside  and 
threw  them  before  the  Rajah's  elephant,  which 
is  a  pretty  way  the  Hindus  have  of  welcom- 
ing a  person  of  importance. 


The  Children  in  the  Ox-wagon     59 

"  How  happy  the  Rajah  must  be,"  said  little 
Shriya,  "  to  be  able  to  ride  like  that  and  wear 
such  beautiful  jewels!"  And  all  the  rest  of 
the  day  the  little  folk  talked  of  nothing  but 
the  great  Rajah  and  his  escort. 

At  sunset  they  came  to  a  parao,  where  they 
were  to  camp  for  the  night.  It  was  only  a 
bare  piece  of  ground  under  some  trees,  and  a 
few  stalls  or  little  shops  where  one  could  buy 
food  and  fuel  to  make  a  fire. 

Our  party  came  to  a  halt  among  many  other 
bullock-carts,  the  owners  of  which  were  al- 
ready sitting  around  on  the  ground  cooking 
their  suppers  or  bargaining  for  food  at  the 
little  booths.  Soon,  when  their  own  pots  and 
pans  were  got  out,  and  the  dishes  and  the  bags 
of  rice  and  meal,  the  cook  made  ready  the 
supper. 

"  This  is  much  more  fun  than  eating  at 
home,"  said  Shriya,  as  the  children  were  gath- 
ering big  leaves  from  the  trees.     These  they 


6o  Our  Little  Hindu  Cousin 

used  for  plates,  heaping  them  up  with  their 
boiled  rice,  and  curry,  and  fish,  and  all  sorts 
of  puddings  and  sweets. 

Meanwhile  the  oxen  tethered  close  by  were 
eating  their  suppers  of  chopped  straw.  As 
supper  was  being  eaten,  another  party  stopped 
at  the  parao  and  camped  not  far  away.  There 
were  many  servants  in  the  new  party,  and  a 
fine  litter  with  gold  and  silk  coverings.  When 
the  litter  was  put  down,  a  young  boy  stepped 
out,  looking  very  proud  and  haughty.  His 
servants  at  once  spread  a  handsome  rug  on 
the  ground  for  him  to  sit  on  and  rushed  about 
waiting  on  him,  taking  good  care  to  keep 
every  one  at  a  distance. 

"  It  is  a  noble  Brahmin  boy,  and  he  must 
be  a  little  prince  at  the  very  least,"  whispered 
Mahala  to  Chola  in  an  awestruck  voice.  "  See 
his  rich  dresses  and  the  airs  he  puts  on." 

"  Yes,  and  how  he  orders  every  one  about 
him.     Nothing  seems  good  enough  for  him," 


The  Children  in  the  Ox-wagon     6 1 

replied  Chola ;  "  but  he  has  a  right  to  be 
proud,  for  he  wears  the  '  Sacred  Thread ' 
about  him,"  he  continued,  looking  at  the  little 
boy  with  interest.  Around  the  little  Brahmin's 
neck  was  a  thin  cord  or  thread,  which  was  the 
sign  of  his  high  caste. 

Just  then  a  little  boy  from  one  of  the  wag- 
ons crept  up  near  and  salaamed  before  him 
until  his  head  touched  the  ground. 

"  Away !  do  not  come  so  near  my  master," 
cried  one  of  the  servants,  and  ordered  him  off. 

"Ha!  the  servant  is  right,"  said  the  chil- 
dren's grandmother,  who  was  sitting  in  her 
palanquin-litter  enjoying  the  lively  scene. 
"  When  I  was  young  like  Shriya,  a  beggar 
boy  like  that  would  not  have  dared  come  so 
near  a  noble  child."  The  old  woman  frowned 
at  the  little  boy,  who  crept  meekly  back  to  his 
cart. 

Meanwhile  the  haughty  little  Brahmin  ate 
his  supper,  with  his  head  turned  away  so  no 


62  Our  Little  Hindu  Cousin 

one  could  see  him  eat,  and  then,  growing  tired 
of  respectful  glances  of  the  crowd  around  him, 
he  got  into  his  litter  again  and  the  servants 
fastened  the  curtains  tightly  around  him. 

Chola  and  Mahala  were  sleepy  by  this  time, 
so  they  just  rolled  themselves  up  in  quilts  on 
the  ground,  while  Shriya  crept  into  the  wagon 
with  her  mother.  Everybody  slept  soundly, 
in  spite  of  the  fact  that  one  of  the  servants  was 
beating  a  drum  most  of  the  night,  which  they 
really  believed  was  the  way  to  keep  off  evil 
spirits. 

The  first  thing  Chola  heard  when  he  woke 
up  the  next  morning  was  the  cook  scolding  the 
doves,  who  were  picking  out  of  his  meal  bags 
while  he  was  getting  breakfast  ready. 

"  Oh,  the  thieves!"  he  cried.  "They  are 
as  bad  as  the  beggars." 

"  They  are  hungry,"  said  Chola.  "  It  would 
not  please  thee  to  be  scolded  if  thou  wert 
hungry."     Then  he  and  Mahala  amused  them- 


The  Children  in  the  Ox-wagon     63 

selves  by  throwing  pieces  of  cake  to  the  doves 
who  were  picking  up  their  food  around  the 
carts,  and  the  green  paroquets  which  came  fly- 
ing out  of  the  trees,  where  they  had  been 
roosting  all  the  night. 

They  did  not  see  the  little  Brahmin  again. 
The  curtains  of  his  litter  were  still  tightly 
closed  when,  after  much  shouting  and  running 
about,  the  bullocks  were  at  last  yoked  into 
the  wagon  and  the  little  procession  rolled  away 
down  the  dusty  road  long  before  the  sun  came 
up  over  the  distant  groves  of  mango-trees. 

"  What  art  thou  guarding  so  carefully, 
Shriya?  "  asked  her  brother.  He  and  Chola 
v/ere  walking  beside  the  wagon  for  a  change. 
The  lattices  were  raised  so  Shriya  and  her 
mother  and  aunt  could  enjoy  the  fresh  air. 

"  They  are  my  dolls,"  said  the  little  girl, 
sadly,  as  she  patted  the  bundle  beside  her.  "  I 
take  them  as  an  offering  to  the  holy  river." 

"  Poor  little   woman !      Must  thou   sacrifice 


64  Our  Little  Hindu  Cousin 

thy  toys,  too?"  smiled  her  uncle  as  he  patted 
her  head. 

"  It  is  right  that  she  should,"  answered  her 
mother;  for  she,  too,  had  thrown  her  dolls 
into  the  sacred  river  when  she  was  a  child, 
at  the  yearly  festival,  when  the  children  must 
sacrifice  their  playthings  to  the  great  river. 

The  boys  suddenly  looked  gloomy,  for  they 
remembered  that  the  day  would  come  only  too 
soon  when  they,  too,  would  have  to  destroy 
all  their  toys.  Chola  wondered  to  himself  as 
he  walked  along  if  he  might  not  at  least  save 
the  little  tiger,  painted  a  bright  yellow  with 
red  spots,  which  was  his  favourite  toy. 

But  the  children  could  not  be  sad  long,  with 
so  much  going  on  about  them,  and  they  were 
soon  shouting  and  laughing  to  a  group  of  chil- 
dren by  the  roadside  who  were  amusing  them- 
selves playing  at  making  "  graves."  They 
were  heaping  up  little  mounds  of  dust  and 
sticking  flowers  in  them,  which  is  the  nearest 


The  Children  in  the  Ox-wagon     65 

thing    little    Hindu    children    have    to    "  mud 
pies." 

For  several  days  our  little  party  plodded 
along  the  flat,  dusty  road,  camping  out  at 
night  at  the  paraos,  until  at  last  they  drew 
near  the  "  Holy  City  of  Benares." 


CHAPTER   V 

THE    CHILDREN    SEE    BENARES    AND    GO    HOME 
FOR   A    WEDDING 

On  the  road  to  Benares  they  found  many 
other  people  going  the  same  way  as  they  them- 
selves. There  were  old  people,  young  people, 
children,  beggars  of  all  kinds,  priests  of  all 
faiths,  sick  people  2nd  well  people,  —  all  go- 
ing to  the  "  Holy  City  "  carrying  offerings  of 
flowers  and  fruits,  and  all  intending  to  bathe 
in  the  Sacred  River. 

Finally  our  party  made  camp  just  outside 
the  city  gates.  Here  they  left  the  wagon  and 
servants  and  made  their  way  through  the 
crowded,  dirty  streets  until  they  finally  came 
down  to  the  banks  of  the  river  Ganges. 

Such  a  sight  as  met  their  eyes! 
66 


The  Children  See  Benares         67 

"Oh!"  said  Chola,  "all  the  temples  in 
the  world  must  be  here." 

"  And  all  the  people,  too,"  said  Mahala. 

"  And  all  the  beggars  as  well,"  answered 
Harajar,  as  they  shouldered  their  way  through 
a  crowd  of  "  fakirs  "  holding  out  their  beg- 
ging-bowls. 

"  Nay,  speak  kindly  of  all  in  the  '  Holy 
City.'  It  may  be  that  our  child  will  be  cured," 
said  the  gentle  mother,  as  she  wrapped  her  veil 
around  the  baby  to  keep  off  the  hot  sun. 

The  children  stopped  to  stare  at  the  hun- 
dreds of  big  temples  of  strange  shapes  which 
stretched  up  and  down  the  river  back  as  far 
as  they  could  see.  In  front  of  these  temples 
were  terraces  and  long  flights  of  steps,  called 
"  ghats  "  leading  down  to  the  river's  edge. 

"  We  will  go  first  to  the  temple  to  make 
an  offering,"  said  Chola's  father,  as  they 
walked  past  temple  after  temple  full  of  queer, 
ugly  images. 


68  Our  Little  Hindu  Cousin 

At  last,  after  many  inquiries,  they  found  the 
temple  that  they  were  looking  for,  and  put 
dishes  of  coloured  rice  and  flowers  before  a 
great  bronze  image  with  four  arms  and  two 
big  diamonds  for  eyes,  sitting  cross-legged  just 
as  they  did  themselves. 

After  this  they  went  down  the  long  steps  in 
front  of  the  temple  to  the  river's  bank,  and 
the  baby  was  bathed  in  the  water  with  much 
ceremony. 

The  children  all  splashed  around  and  thought 
it  rather  good  fun.  The  water  was  cool  and 
agreeable,  and  they  amused  themselves  trying 
to  catch  the  long  lines  of  flower  wreaths  which 
went  floating  by.  These  wreaths  of  flowers 
are  thrown  into  the  waters  of  the  Ganges  by 
the  pilgrims  as  an  offering  to  the  waters  of 
the  "  Sacred  River." 

Little  Shriya  had  brought  her  dolls.  One 
by  one  she  sadly  dropped  them,  the  brightly 
painted  little  dolls,  made  of  clay  and  dressed 


THESE   THE    CHILDREN    TWISTED    INTO    WREATHS    AND   THREW 
INTO   THE    RIVER." 


The  Children  See  Benares         69 

just  like  herself,  into  the  river.  At  last  she 
held  in  her  arms  only  the  two  she  had  made 
herself  in  the  garden  at  home.  They  had  lost 
most  of  their  arms  and  legs  on  the  journey, 
and  were  sorry-looking  little  dolls;  but  Shriya 
was  very  fond  of  them,  and  she  wondered  if 
the  "  Sacred  River "  would  really  miss  them 
if  she  kept  them.  With  a  sigh  she  decided  this 
would  be  very  wrong,  and  so  she  put  them, 
too,  tenderly  in  the  water  among  the  floating 
flowers.  She  then  sat  down  on  the  steps  and 
drew  her  veil  over  her  face  and  sighed  softly, 
for  it  would  be  three  whole  months  before  she 
could  have  any  more  dolls. 

"  Here  are  our  flowers,"  said  Chola,  run- 
ning down  the  steps  with  his  arms  full  of  yel- 
low marigolds  and  sweet  jasmine,  which  he  had 
bought  from  the  flower-seller  who  sat  under 
one  of  the  big  umbrellas.  These  the  children 
twisted  into  wreaths  and  threw  into  the  river. 
"  And   here  is  one   for  the  man  who   gave  us 


70  Our  Little  Hindu  Cousin 

the  sugar-cane,"  he  said,  tossing  a  large  wreath 
on  the  water. 

"  Here  thou  wilt  see  every  caste  in  India," 
said  Harajar,  as  they  sat  on  the  steps  drying 
themselves  under  a  big  umbrella  after  their 
bath.  There  were  indeed  thousands  of  people ; 
some  just  getting  ready  to  enter  the  water; 
others  slipping  into  their  dry  clothes  after  their 
bath.  There  were  water-carriers,  carrying 
great  jugs  of  the  "  holy  water "  to  sell  to 
pilgrims  to  carry  with  them. 

"  Look  how  the  smoke  rolls  up  yonder,"  said 
Mahala.  "  The  smoke  comes  from  the  burn- 
ing '  ghats.'  May  the  little  one  not  have  to 
be  carried  there,"  said  his  uncle,  looking  gloom- 
ily at  the  smoke  curling  up  from  the  edge  of 
the  river  lower  down. 

"  Nay,  speak  not  of  them.  'Tis  an  evil 
omen  and  the  gods  may  hear  thee,"  said  the 
mother,  as  she  held  the  baby  closer  to  her. 

It  is  the  Hindu  custom  to  burn  their  dead; 


The  Children  See  Benares  71 

and,  in  spite  of  bathing  and  drinking  the 
sacred  water,  many  of  the  poor  pilgrims  do 
die  at  Benares.  Indeed,  it  may  be  that  they 
die  because  they  do  drink  it;  for  you  can 
imagine  how  dirty  the  river  is  with  so  many, 
many  thousands  of  people  bathing  in  it  all  the 
time.  For  this  reason  certain  of  the  "  ghats  " 
along  the  river  are  set  apart  as  places  where 
bodies  may  be  burned.  The  bodies  are  laid 
on  great  piles  of  wood  which  are  set  on  fire, 
the  families  of  the  dead  sitting  around  lament- 
ing and  wailing. 

Our  party  camped  some  days  outside  the 
great  gate  and  took  many  baths  and  drank 
much  water.  When  they  finally  got  home 
again,  everybody  was  very  happy,  for  the  baby 
was  really  much  better. 

"  We  did  well  to  go,"  said  Chola's  father, 
as  he  looked  at  the  baby  growing  fat  and  well 
again. 

"  I  think  the  white  cobra  helped  to  bring 


72  Our  Little  Hindu  Cousin 

us  good  luck,  too,"  Chola  said,  confidentially 
to  Mahala. 

Then  word  came  from  the  boys'  Uncle 
Achmed  that  he  was  coming  to  the  city  to  take 
a  new  elephant  back  home  with  him,  and  that 
they  might  go  back  with  him  for  a  visit. 

Little  Shriya  soon  forgot  to  grieve  for  her 
lost  dolls,  for  now  the  grand  preparations  for 
her  wedding  began.  It  is  the  custom  for  our 
little  Hindu  cousins  to  marry  very  young. 
But  this  is  only  a  ceremony.  As  little  Shriya 
was  only  nine  years  old,  she  would  still  stay 
at  home  and  play  with  her  toys  until  she  was 
grown  up,  when  she  would  go  and  live  in  her 
husband's  family. 

If,  meanwhile,  her  boy  husband  should  die 
and  leave  her  a  widow,  she  would  have  to  go 
into  mourning  for  him  all  her  life  and  never 
marry  again.  She  would  have  to  shave  her 
head  and  never  wear  any  more  pretty,  bright 
dresses  or  jewels,  and  only  eat  one  meal  a  day. 


The  Children  See  Benares         73 

Then,  too,  everybody  would  have  as  little  to 
do  with  her  as  possible;  for  even  to  see  a 
widow  is  thought  to  be  bad  luck.  You  see 
that  some  of  the  Hindu  customs  are  very  un- 
just to  the  little  Hindu  girls.  So  it  was  no 
wonder  that  Shriya  did  not  want  to  keep  the 
festival  of  the  Goddess  of  Learning,  for  fear 
it  might  cause  her  to  be  a  widow  some  day. 

On  the  day  of  the  wedding,  Shriya  stood  in 
the  middle  of  the  big  room  of  the  zenana, 
being  dressed  for  the  grand  ceremony.  How 
happy  and  excited  she  was !  To-day,  for  the 
first  time  in  her  life,  she  was  the  most  impor- 
tant person  in  the  family.  She  had  been  bathed 
with  sweet  perfumes,  and  her  mother  had  put 
all  kinds  of  powders  on  her  face  and  painted 
her  eyebrows. 

"  Oh,  mother,  is  it  not  lovely?  "  cried  the 
little  girl  gleefully,  as  the  mother  draped  a 
scarf  of  pale  blue  silk  all  shining  with  gold 
over  her  beautiful  dress  of  pink  silk. 


74  Our  Little  Hindu  Cousin 

"  Now  thou  wilt  indeed  look  like  a  little 
princess,"  said  the  grandmother,  as  she  put  a 
wonderful  jewelled  head-dress  which  she  had 
worn  at  her  own  wedding  on  Shriya's  head. 
It  was  of  gold  set  with  many  jewels,  and  little 
Shriya  gave  a  sigh  of  pleasure  and  joyfully 
clapped  her  hands  when  her  mother  held  up 
a  small  mirror  that  she  might  see  herself. 

The  grandmother  decked  her  out  with  many 
other  kinds  of  jewelled  ornaments,  long  ear- 
rings that  hung  down  to  her  shoulders,  beau- 
tiful pearls,  and  a  gold  collar  around  her  neck. 
Then  she  put  on  bracelet  after  bracelet  of  gold 
and  silver  until  her  arms  were  almost  covered 
from  shoulder  to  wrist,  and  she  had  to  hold 
them  stiff  like  a  doll.  And  her  fingers  were 
so  covered  with  rings  that  she  could  hardly 
move  them  at  all.  Last  of  all  the  grandmother 
threw  over  her  a  long  veil  of  silk  tissue,  span- 
gled with  gold. 

What  would  you  think  of  a  little  girl  dressed 


The  Children  See  Benares         75 

in  all  these  beautiful  things  and  being  bare- 
footed? Shriya  would  much  rather  have  rings 
on  her  toes  than  shoes  and  stockings.  She  did 
have  rings  on  her  toes,  too,  and  silver  bands 
on  her  ankles  as  well. 

The  last  thing  the  grandmother  did  was  to 
hang  wreaths  of  jasmine  flowers  all  over  her. 
It  was  no  wonder  that  she  had  to  be  pushed 
along  by  some  one !  She  could  not  possibly 
have  walked  by  herself. 

How  pleased  little  Shriya  was!  Everybody 
was  admiring  her  and  giving  her  good  wishes. 
The  boys  were  quite  jealous,  for  they  felt  that 
every  one  was  paying  more  attention  to  a  girl 
than  to  either  of  them. 

"  Next  year  I  shall  be  married,  too,"  said 
Chola,  trying  to  console  himself. 

But  just  then  some  one  called  out  that  the 
bridegroom  was  coming,  and  all  the  children 
ran  out  to  meet  him.  The  little  bridegroom 
rode  a  spirited  pony,  and  looked  as  line  as  a 


76  Our  Little  Hindu  Cousin 

little  Rajah  in  his  white  silk  dress  with  golden 
flowers  embroidered  all  over  it,  and  in  front 
of  his  turban  a  handsome  jewelled  ornament. 
He  had  shoes  on,  and  around  his  neck  were 
chains  of  jewels  and  precious  stones.  Behind 
him  came  a  long  procession  of  relatives  and 
friends.  When  he  got  to  the  door,  all  the 
little  girls,  Shriya's  little  friends,  surrounded 
him  and  led  him  into  the  courtyard.  Chola 
and  Mahala  were  very  busy  running  around 
giving  each  guest  a  wreath  of  jasmine  to  hang 
around  their  necks,  and  a  wand  of  sandalwood, 
which  was  lighted  like  a  candle  and  gave  off 
a  sweet  perfume  as  it  burned. 

A  beautiful  arbour  of  flowers  had  been  put 
up  in  the  inner  courtyard,  under  which  the 
bride  and  groom  sat  side  by  side. 

The  old  Brahmin  priest  was  there,  of  course, 
to  perform  the  marriage  ceremony.  He  made 
a  salaam  to  the  north  and  south  and  the  east 
and  the  west,  a  sign  of  politeness  to  the  "  good 


THE    MARRIAGE    OF    5HRIYA. 


The  Children  See  Benares         77 

spirits"  who  were  supposed  to  be  present; 
and,  after  many  long  prayers,  the  grandmother 
put  a  silver  cord  around  the  bride's  neck,  after 
which  the  guests  threw  handfuls  of  rice  which 
they  took  from  a  great  copper  bowl  before  the 
bridal  couple. 

Just  as  all  the  little  girls  were  marching 
around  the  courtyard  after  the  ceremony,  fol- 
lowed by  the  bride  and  groom,  what  should 
naughty  Jam,  the  pet  monkey,  do  but  snatch 
some  of  the  rice  out  of  the  bowl,  and  rush  with 
it  to  the  roof,  where  he  sat  chattering  and 
throwing  it  down  on  the  heads  of  the  guests. 
This  greatly  amused  the  children;  but  the  old 
Brahmin  was  very  angry.  So  Chola  had  to 
pretend  to  scold  the  little  monkey: 

"  Thou  shalt  come  down  and  taste  the  bam- 
boo rod,  naughty  one !  "  he  cried,  looking  up 
at  his  pet.  But  Jam  only  chattered  the  harder 
and  threw  more  rice  and  made  up  his  mind  to 
stay  where  he  was. 


78  Our  Little  Hindu  Cousin 

"  'Tis  a  good  saying  of  ours  —  '  Never  trust 
a  boy  or  a  monkey.'  Eh,  Chola?"  said  his 
Uncle  Achmed,  who  had  just  got  there  in  time 
for  the  wedding,  laughing. 

But  Jam  was  quite  forgotten  when  a  great 
beating  of  drums  was  heard  outside  and  in 
came  the  dancing-girls  and  the  musicians. 

All  the  company  then  sat  around  the  court 
and  watched  the  nautch-girls,  as  they  are  called, 
dance.  They  never  thought  of  dancing  them- 
selves, deeming  it  too  much  work.  All  the 
time  the  musicians  were  beating  their  drums 
and  playing  on  the  funniest  sorts  of  instru- 
ments imaginable,  like  queer-shaped  mandolins 
and  zithers;  and  it  was  more  like  a  screechy 
noise  than  like  music  —  just  a  monotonous 
singsong  chant. 

But  this  was  not  the  end  of  the  gaieties. 
There  were  many  dinners  to  be  given.  So  the 
cook-room  was  in  a  perfect  hubbub,  and  you 
may  believe  that  the  grandmother  was  making 


The  Children  See  Benares         79 

everybody  fly  around.  But  she  found  time  to 
scold  the  crowd  of  beggars  who  were  hanging 
around  the  doors  however,  though  at  the  same 
time  she  saw  to  it  that  they  got  the  scraps  that 
were  left. 

"  It  is  well  to  be  good  to  the  poor  at  all 
times,"  she  said. 

"  Ah,  but  this  is  the  best  thing  of  all !  " 
exclaimed  Chola  to  Mahala,  as  he  and  his 
cousin  and  Nao  sat  side  by  side  on  a  mat  in 
the  pretty  garden  that  evening  and  saw  the 
wonderful  fireworks.  There  were  queer  ani- 
mals and  birds,  all  made  up  with  coloured 
lamps  and  fires;  and  all  through  the  trees  were 
hung  lanterns,  made  of  big  yellow  gourds  with 
coloured  lights  inside  them.  All  the  while  the 
musicians  thumped  on  their  drums,  and  every- 
body was  very  gay  and  merry. 


CHAPTER   VI 

THE  LITTLE  SAHIB   SEES  THE  BIG  ELEPHANTS 

"  To-day  I  must  take  the  young  elephants 
home,"  said  Uncle  Achmed,  when  the  wedding 
festivities  were  over.  "  Are  the  two  little 
princelings  ready  to  go  with  me?"  he  con- 
tinued, smiling  at  his  two  little  nephews. 

"  Indeed  we  are,"  exclaimed  the  two  boys, 
wild  with  delight,  though  they  did  not  whoop 
or  jump  about  as  boys  probably  would  do  else- 
where. Little  Hindu  children  don't  make 
much  noise  at  any  time.  It  would  be  thought 
strange  because  it  would  be  bad  manners  to 
do  so;  indeed  a  Hindu  very  seldom  even 
laughs  loudly. 

But  there  was  nothing  that  Chola  and  Ma- 
hala   really   liked   better  than   to   go   to   their 

80 


Little  Sahib  Sees  the  Elephants     8 1 

uncle's  house  and  see  the  big  elephants  at  work. 
Uncle  Achmed  had  a  big  lumber-yard  on  the 
banks  of  the  Ganges,  and  used  many  elephants 
to  move  about  and  pile  up  the  great  logs  of 
teak-wood.  Wouldn't  little  boys  in  America 
think  it  a  lot  of  fun  if  they  could  go  out  into 
the  country  and  see,  instead  of  horses,  a  lot 
of  elephants  at  work?  Well,  that  is  just  what 
a  little  Hindu  boy  can  do,  for  elephants  are 
almost  as  plentiful  as  horses  in  India;  and 
they  use  them  for  many  kinds  of  work  where 
we  use  horses  or  machinery. 

"  I  have  brought  the  old  elephant  with  me; 
he  is  wise  and  will  be  able  to  show  the  others 
the  way  home;  and,  also,  he  will  tell  them 
how  to  behave,"  said  Achmed,  as  he  and  the 
two  boys  made  their  way  to  the  serai,  the 
camping-place  of  the  elephants  outside  the  city 
gate. 

Here  were  lots  and  lots  of  great  gray  ele- 
phants,  swinging  their  long  trunks   from   side 


82  Our  Little  Hindu  Cousin 

to  side  as  they  swayed  and  stamped  around, 
while  their  owners  and  drivers  shouted  and  dis- 
puted together. 

The  two  young  elephants  were  hobbled  in 
one  corner,  swaying  to  and  fro  and  swinging 
their  trunks  in  rather  a  wicked  way.  Near  by 
was  Uncle  Achmed's  old  elephant,  swinging 
his  trunk  at  the  two  young  ones  as  much  as  to 
say:  "  There  are  a  great  many  things  for  you 
youngsters  to  learn  yet,  and  I'm  going  to  teach 
you." 

The  driver  touched  the  old  elephant  with 
his  stick  and  the  great  beast  slowly  knelt  down. 
Achmed  and  the  boys  then  climbed  into  the 
howdah,  and  the  great  big  elephant  marched 
off  with  much  dignity. 

"  Look,  the  little  elephants  do  not  like  the 
road,"  said  Chola,  pointing  to  the  new  ele- 
phants, who  would  not  budge.  A  little  prod- 
ding from  the   driver's  sharp   stick,   however, 


Little  Sahib  Sees  the  Elephants     83 

made  them  change  their  minds  quickly;  and 
they  meekly  followed  the  old  elephant. 

"  Thou  art  like  two  little  Rajahs  now,"  said 
Uncle  Achmed,  with  a  smile  as  he  squatted 
in  the  howdah  beside  them  and  took  out  his 
"  betel "  box.  It  was  a  beautiful  little  silver 
box,  all  inlaid  with  enamel  and  precious  stones. 
Inside  were  three  compartments  which  held 
betel  nuts,  lime,  and  spices.  He  took  a  pinch 
of  all  three  of  these  and  began  to  chew  the 
pan,  as  the  mixture  is  called. 

The  boys  had  a  very  good  time.  They 
would  call  down  to  the  children  walking  along 
the  dusty  road  and  twit  them  for  not  being 
able  to  ride  in  state  as  they  were  doing,  just 
as  children  do  the  world  over.  Everybody 
gave  them  the  road,  or,  rather,  the  big  ele- 
phants took  it  as  a  matter  of  course.  The  old 
elephant  took  all  kinds  of  liberties  with  the 
passers-by,  evidently  just  for  the  fun  of  the 
thing.     He  would  give  a  fellow  trudging  along 


84  Our  Little  Hindu  Cousin 

a  nudge  on  the  back  with  the  end  of  his  trunk, 
which  would  nearly  scare  the  fellow  to  death; 
or  he  would  sneeze,  as  it  were,  into  a  lazy 
beggar's  face,  which  would  make  the  "  Holy 
Man "  very  angry  indeed.  Once  he  delib- 
erately took  a  nice  ripe  melon  out  of  a  cart 
and  ate  it,  while  its  owner,  who  was  fast 
asleep,  never  missed  it. 

"  He  is  a  wise  one,"  said  Uncle  Achmed, 
"but  what  is  the  matter  there?"  he  cried, 
looking  back.  The  matter  was  that  a  wedding 
procession  had  just  come  out  of  a  side  road. 
The  bride  was  in  a  litter  covered  with  gay 
curtains  and  gold  embroideries,  and  the  bride- 
groom was  riding  a  white  horse  which  was  all 
decked  with  flowers,  and  had  his  mane  and  tail 
dyed  pink. 

With  all  this  splendour  there  was  much 
beating  of  drums  and  music  from  other  noisy 
instruments.  One  of  the  new  elephants  had 
taken  a  great  fright  and  backed  up  against  the 


Little  Sahib  Sees  the  Elephants     85 

bride's  litter.  This  had  made  the  bridegroom's 
horse  rear  up  and  nearly  upset  him  on  the 
dusty  road.  The  poor  little  bride  screamed, 
and  the  crowd  of  relations  and  friends  abused 
the  elephant  and  all  his  family  and  kindred 
back  through  many  generations,  several  hun- 
dreds of  years,  which  is  the  true  Hindu  fash- 
ion of  showing  one's  anger. 

The  drivers  prodded  and  punched,  but  the 
young  elephant  would  not  move.  Then  old 
Ranji,  the  wise  old  elephant,  wheeled  around 
and  went  up  to  the  naughty  and  obstinate 
youngster  and  gave  his  trunk  such  a  twist  that 
he  squealed  out  in  pain.  Then  Ranji  gave  him 
a  push  out  into  the  middle  of  the  road  again, 
and  after  this  kept  the  young  one  right  in 
front  of  him.  He  was  so  scared  that  he 
scarcely  dared  to  swing  his  trunk  from  side 
to  side  again;  and  all  went  smoothly  until 
they    lumbered    into    the    great    courtyard    of 


86  Our  Little  Hindu  Cousin 

Achmed's  house,  which  sat  in  the  midst  of  a 
wide  expanse  of  rice-fields. 

As  they  climbed  down  out  of  the  "  how- 
dah,"  the  head  servant  made  a  "  salaam^  or 
bow,  before  the  master  until  his  forehead 
touched  the  ground,  which  is  a  way  of  being 
very  polite.  He  then  told  Achmed  that  the 
Colonel  Sahib  and  the  little  Sahib  had  done 
him  the  honour  of  coming  to  see  him,  and 
were  even  now  sitting  in  the  garden  awaiting 
his  coming.  All  Englishmen  in  India  are 
called  Sahib  and  English  women  are  called 
Mem-sahib. 

Achmed  found  the  Colonel  sitting  on  a  bed 
under  a  big  tree  in  the  garden.  This  bed  the 
head  servant  had  brought  from  the  house  for 
him  to  sit  on,  for  this  is  one  of  the  forms 
of  politeness  shown  to  English  visitors  at  a 
Hindu   home. 

Just  then  the  "  little  Sahib  "  ran  up  to  see 
the  elephants;   and,  who  should  he  be,  but  the 


Little  Sahib  Sees  the  Elephants     87 

little  boy  who  had  lost  his  way  in  the  Ba- 
zaar. 

"  Look,  it  is  the  little  Sahib  I  talked  with," 
exclaimed  Chola  to  Mahala. 

"  Hello!  "  said  Harry,  holding  out  his  hand. 
"  Oh,  I  forgot  you  folk  never  shake  hands," 
he  continued.  "  Isn't  it  funny  to  think  I 
should  see  you  again?  But  this  isn't  the  same 
boy  who  was  with  you  before,"  he  continued, 
turning  to  Mahala. 

The  boys  were  delighted  to  see  each  other 
again,  and  soon  were  talking  away  as  if  they 
had  always  known  one  another,  though  some- 
times it  was  hard  for  them  to  understand,  and 
they  made  many  funny  mistakes. 

Harry  thought  the  big  elephants  were  won- 
derful beasts,  and  wanted  to  see  them  at  work; 
so  the  boys  took  him  down  to  the  river  where 
the  elephants  were  piling  up  the  teak.  An 
elephant  picks  up  one  end  of  a  log  with  his 
trunk  and  lays  that  on  the  pile;     then  he  takes 


88  Our  Little  Hindu  Cousin 

hold  of  the  other  end  and  so  brings  it  around 
in  place.  All  the  while  his  driver  sits  on  the 
neck  of  the  great  beast,  and  tells  him  what 
to  do  by  prodding  him  gently  with  his  iron- 
shod  stick.  After  awhile  the  elephants  become 
so  well  trained  that  they  will  do  their  work 
without  any  guidance  whatever. 

Harry  was  amazed.  He  had  never  seen 
elephants  at  work  before;  but  it  was  an  old 
story  to  the  Hindu  boys,  and  they  told  him 
how  the  elephants  were  made  to  help  build 
roads  and  railroads,  and  even  carry  cannon  on 
their  backs  in  battle.  Elephants  are  very  in- 
telligent, and  can  be  trained  to  do  the  most 
wonderful  things. 

"  We  will  go  now  and  see  the  wonderful 
elephant  of  old  Yusuf,"  said  Chola,  leading 
the  way  to  the  back  of  the  house,  where  old 
Yusuf,  the  head  driver,  lived.  Here  they  saw 
the  funniest  sight.  Yusuf's  baby  grandson  lay 
asleep  on  a  mat  in  front  of  the  door,  and  the 


Little  Sahib  Sees  the  Elephants     89 

old  elephant  was  standing  by  waving  his  trunk 
backwards  and  forwards  over  the  baby  to  keep 
away  the  flies. 

How  the  children  laughed!  "That  is  the 
funniest  '  ayah  '  I  have  ever  seen,"  said  Harry. 
An  "  ayah  "  is  the  name  for  the  Indian  nurse- 
maids. 

Old  Yusuf  now  came  up  and  showed  them 
how  the  elephant  would  wake  up  the  coolies, 
or  labourers,  when  they  were  sleeping  in  the 
shade,  by  filling  his  trunk  with  water  and 
squirting  it  over  the  sleeping  fellows.  When 
he  wanted  his  master  he  would  go  to  the  door 
of  his  house  and  knock  against  it  with  his 
foot,  just  as  a  person  would  knock  with  his 
fist,  only  a  good  deal  harder. 

"  Yusuf  knows,  too,  the  language  that  the 
elephants  talk  together  in  the  jungle,"  whis- 
pered Chola  to  Harry.  It  really  seemed  as 
if  the  old  man  did  understand  the  language  of 
the  elephants,  for  he  would  speak  to  the  ele- 


90  Our  Little  Hindu  Cousin 

phant  with  strange  sounds,  and  the  beast 
would  follow  him  about  like  a  dog.  "  He  has 
taught  me  to  speak  some  of  the  elephant  talk, 
also,"  continued  Chola,  looking  very  know- 
ing. 

Harry  told  the  boys  that  his  father  had 
come  to  talk  with  Achmed  about  a  tiger  hunt 
that  he  and  several  other  Englishmen,  who 
were  friends  of  his,  were  planning.  Achmed 
was  well  known  as  a  good  man  to  plan  a  hunt, 
for  he  knew  the  jungle  well,  as  the  wild  for- 
ests of  India  are  called. 

"  Papa  is  going  to  take  me  on  the  tiger 
hunt,  too.  Won't  that  be  fine !  "  said  Harry, 
eagerly.  "  Mamma  was  afraid  at  first,  but  I 
begged  as  hard  as  I  knew,  and  told  her  that 
if  I  was  going  to  be  in  the  Indian  Survey  some 
day,  I'd  have  to  go  through  the  jungle  grass 
and  wild  forests,  and  take  measurements  with 
all  sorts  of  instruments  and  things,  and  that 
I  might  as  well  get  acquainted  with  the  coun- 


Little  Sahib  Sees  the  Elephants     91 

try  now.  Then  papa  laughed  and  said  that  I 
ought  to  begin  as  soon  as  possible,  and  so  it 
is  all  fixed. 

"Why  couldn't  you  both  come,  too?" 
Harry  asked  the  boys.  "  Your  uncle  could 
bring  you.  Wouldn't  it  be  fun !  Perhaps  we 
could  shoot  a  tiger  ourselves !  " 

"  Oh,  I  shouldn't  dare  to  even  think  of 
attacking  a  tiger,"  gasped  the  gentle  little 
Chola.  Hindus  are  as  a  rule  mild,  gentle 
folk.  Perhaps  this  comes  from  their  laws,  so 
commonly  observed,  which  forbid  them  to  kill 
animals  or  eat  meat. 

"  Perhaps  you  are  afraid  to  go,"  said  Harry. 

"  I  have  not  fear,  though  I  would  not  be 
brave  enough  to  attempt  to  kill  a  great  tiger; 
but  I  should  like  to  go  all  the  same.  We 
are  brave  people,  and  many  of  our  warrior 
caste  serve  in  the  great  Sahib's  army,  as  you 
know,"  said  Chola,  proudly. 

44  I  did  not  mean  to  say  that.     I  know  you 


92  Our  Little  Hindu  Cousin 

people  are  brave.  Father  often  says  he  never 
had  a  finer  lot  of  soldiers  than  those  in  his 
Indian  regiment,"  replied  Harry,  hurriedly. 
He  was  afraid  that  he  had  hurt  the  little 
Hindu  boy's  feelings. 

"  But  perhaps  you  can  go,  Chola,  if  Mahala 
can't.  Let  us  go  now  and  ask  your  uncle  if 
he  will  take  you,"  continued  Harry. 

"  By  all  means  let  the  boy  come,  Achmed. 
He  will  be  a  companion  for  you,  Harry,"  said 
the  Colonel  Sahib.  "  And  he  will  help  you 
learn  Hindustanee,  too.  You  need  help,  do 
you  not?"  laughed  his  father. 

"  What  will  your  father  say  if  the  gods  of 
the  jungle  carry  you  off?"  asked  Achmed, 
half-banteringly.  But  he  could  not  long  re- 
fuse his  favourite  nephew  anything  that  he 
could  give  him,  and  so  it  was  arranged  that 
Achmed,  with  two  of  his  best  drivers,  and 
Chola,  should  meet  the  Colonel  Sahib  and  his 
party  at  the  big  railway  station  in  Lucknow 


Little  Sahib  Sees  the  Elephants     93 

in  a  week's  time.  From  there  they  would  take 
the  "  fire-wagons  "  to  a  certain  small  village, 
from  which  they  would  make  their  real  start 
for  the  jungle. 


CHAPTER    VII 

CHOLA    GOES    ON   A   TIGER    HUNT 

Poor  Mahala  felt  very  badly  as  he  stood  in 
the  big  railway  station  and  watched  Chola 
and  the  little  Sahib  go  off  in  the  fire-carriage. 
"  I  will  go  and  buy  some  sweetmeats,"  he  said 
finally.  This  made  him  feel  a  little  better, 
for  Mahala  had  a  very  "  sweet  tooth." 

Meantime  Chola  and  his  little  friend  were 
speeding  quickly  through  waving  rice-fields  and 
grain-fields.  This  is  even  more  fun  than  trav- 
elling in  the  ox-wagon,  thought  Chola,  as  they 
rushed  through  town  after  town  and  watched 
the  trees  fly  past.  Finally  they  stopped  at  the 
village  where  Achmed  had  arranged  for  the 
elephants  and  the  beaters  to  meet  them,   for 

94 


Chola  Goes  on  a  Tiger  Hunt       95 

the  real  way  to  hunt  tigers  is  to  go  after  them 
on  elephants. 

The  servants  had  packed  away  their  belong- 
ings and  camp  things  on  top  of  the  two  big 
elephants,  as  they  expected  to  have  to  live  in 
the  jungle  for  several  days. 

"Isn't  this  splendid?"  exclaimed  Harry,  as 
the  elephants  went  rocking  along  through  the 
tangled  grass.  He  was  so  excited  that  he 
could  not  keep  still,  and  even  Chola's  mild 
black  eyes  were  sparkling. 

The  beaters,  whose  business  it  is  to  beat 
through  the  long  grass  and  underbrush  where 
a  tiger  might  be  hidden,  were  full  of  tales  of 
a  great  man-eating  tiger  that  was  the  terror 
of  the  region,  and  who  was  in  the  habit  of 
coming  boldly  up  to  the  fields  and  gardens, 
carrying  off  goats  and  even  attacking  the  oxen. 

When  they  came  to  one  of  the  little  villages, 
they  found  the  inhabitants  in  a  state  of  terror. 
Only  the  day  before,  the  tiger  had  sprung  on 


96  Our  Little  Hindu  Cousin 

a  farmer  who  was  ploughing  his  fields  and 
carried  him  off  in  sight  of  the  whole  village. 
The  tracks  which  were  seen  in  the  mud  along 
the  banks  of  a  stream  showed  that  he  was  a 
very  big  and  powerful  tiger. 

Our  party  followed  these  tracks  for  some 
time,  but  nothing  more  was  discovered;  and, 
as  it  was  growing  late,  they  made  camp  for 
the  night. 

The  servants  quickly  put  up  the  tents  for 
the  Sahibs  and  built  a  big  fire.  They  did  not 
want  a  tiger  to  pay  them  a  surprise  visit  at 
night;   and  hungry  tigers  often  do  bold  things. 

"  Ough !  this  is  creepy.  Just  suppose  a 
tiger  should  steal  up  behind  us  now,"  confided 
Harry  to  Chola,  as  they  sat  around  the  big 
fire  after  supper. 

"  It  is  well  to  have  a  charm;  hast  thou 
one?"  asked  little  Chola,  as  he  felt  for  the 
charm  which  hung  about  his  neck.  He  always 
wore  a  charm,  but  this  was  one  which  his  uncle 


Chola  Goes  on  a  Tiger  Hunt      97 

had  given  him  to  keep  off  the  evil  spirits  of 
the  jungle. 

"  No,  indeed,"  laughed  Harry.  "  We  don't 
wear  such  things.  Still,  if  one  does  believe 
in  charms,  now  is  the  time  to  have  one,"  he 
added,  looking  behind  him  rather  fearfully. 

It  was  strange  and  wild  there  in  the  dense 
forest  full  of  unknown  dangers;  and  there 
were  queer  noises,  and  the  firelight  twisted 
up  the  shadows  of  the  men  and  elephants  into 
grewsome  and  unsightly  things. 

Once  in  awhile  a  cry  would  come  from  some 
wild  animal  or  bird  in  the  trees,  and  the  boys 
would  look  over  their  shoulders  and  draw  up 
closer  to  the  fire.  But  it  was  fun,  although 
they  felt  more  creepy  still  when  the  beaters 
began  to  tell  stories  of  wonderful  hunts  in 
which  they  had  taken  part  in  the  past;  and 
the  old  head  beater,  who  had  come  from  the 
south,  himself,  told  tales  of  his  wonderful 
adventures. 


98  Our  Little  Hindu  Cousin 

He  told  how  one  night  he  awoke  and  found 
a  leopard  sniffing  at  his  head  as  he  lay  sleeping 
on  his  veranda;  and  how  he  only  saved  his 
life  by  holding  his  breath  and  pretending  to  be 
dead.  A  leopard  will  not  touch  a  dead  per- 
son or  animal.  Another  time  he  had  seen  the 
queer  little  "  Todas"  a  race  of  people  who 
live  in  the  Nilgiri  Hills  in  the  far  south  and 
worship  buffaloes,  and  say  prayers  while  they 
are  milking  these  sacred  beasts,  whose  temples 
are  their  dairies. 

He  knew,  too,  the  wild,  shy  people  of  the 
jungle,  who  build  their  houses  like  nests  in 
the  trees,  so  as  to  be  safe  from  prowling  wild 
beasts.  Once  while  hunting  in  the  deep  forest 
he  had  been  caught  in  the  huge  coils  of  a  ter- 
rible boa-constrictor,  one  of  those  great  snakes 
that  can  crush  an  ox  by  winding  themselves 
about  it  in  great  coils,  or  can  swallow  an  ante- 
lope at  one  mouthful.  The  beater  was  only 
saved  from  the  anger  of  the  great  snake  by 


Chola  Goes  on  a  Tiger  Hunt      99 

one  of  the  other  hunters  coming  up  just  at 
the  right  moment  and  killing  it. 

He  was  a  wonderful  man,  this  old  fellow 
with  the  long  gray  beard,  as  he  sat  by  the  fire 
chewing  his  "  betel "  nut  and  telling  his  never- 
ending  stories. 

The  next  morning  all  were  up  at  daybreak, 
for  they  wanted  to  get  an  early  start.  One  of 
the  elephants  had  been  rather  ugly  during  the 
time  when  the  men  were  packing  the  things  on 
his  back,  and  he  was  still  in  a  bad  temper  when 
Harry  came  up  with  a  piece  of  sugar  for  him. 
Instead  of  putting  the  sugar  into  the  elephant's 
mouth,  Harry  accidentally  dropped  it  on  the 
ground.  This  made  the  elephant  still  more 
angry;  and,  as  Harry  stooped  to  pick  up  the 
sugar,  he  lifted  his  great  foot  and  would  have 
crushed  the  boy,  who  did  not  dream  of  the 
danger  he  was  in.  Suddenly  Chola  saw  the 
danger,  and  rushing  right  up  under  the  angry 
elephant's   foot  made  those  strange  cries  that 


IOO        Our  Little  Hindu  Cousin 

the  old  head  driver  at  his  uncle's  had  taught 
him.  It  was  the  talk  of  the  elephants  among 
themselves  as  they  roamed  the  jungle. 

It  was  like  magic.  The  big  foot  came  down 
gently  without  touching  either  of  the  boys, 
and  the  elephant,  giving  a  peculiar  cry,  rubbed 
his  trunk  against  Chola,  just  as  the  Colonel 
Sahib  and  every  one  came  running  up  in  terror, 
for  they  had  seen  it  all  and  thought  that  the 
boys  would  surely  be  crushed  to  death. 

Chola  was  a  great  hero !  You  can  imagine 
how  the  Colonel  Sahib  thanked  him;  and  the 
natives  looked  at  him  with  wonder  and  awe. 

"  He  is  indeed  one  who  is  wise  though 
young;  for  the  wild  animals  talk  with  him 
as  with  a  friend,"  said  the  old  head  beater, 
as  he  salaamed  down  to  Chola's  feet. 

Harry  did  not  say  much  until  he  and  Chola 
were  alone,  and  then  he  said:  "  Chola,  I  did 
think  you  were  a  bit  of  a  coward  when  we 
were   talking   in  your  uncle's   garden;    but   I 


Chola  Goes  on  a  Tiger  Hunt     ioi 

know  now  you  are  much  braver  than  I,  for 
I  would  never  have  dared  to  go  up  like  that 
and  order  about  an  angry  elephant." 

After  everybody  had  got  over  their  fright 
and  were  actually  ready  to  start,  some  of  the 
beaters  who  had  been  looking  around  for  signs 
of  tigers  came  back  and  said  they  had  seen  the 
tracks.  So  everything  was  got  ready  as  quickly 
as  possible,  or  as  quickly  as  Hindus  can  be 
got  to  move,  and  the  big  elephants  went  trudg- 
ing along  through  the  underwood  until  finally 
it  was  seen  that  the  grass  had  been  crushed 
down  in  places,  a  sign  that  the  tiger  himself 
could  not  be  far  away.  The  elephants  began 
to  show  signs  of  fear,  as  they  always  do  when 
a  tiger  is  about,  and  the  beaters  divided  their 
forces,  some  of  them  going  around  one  way 
and  the  rest  another,  searching  carefully 
through  the  tangled  grass  and  underbrush. 
All  the  men  got  their  guns  ready,  and  it  was 
not  a  minute  too  soon;    for,  suddenly,  up  out 


102        Our  Little  Hindu  Cousin 

of  the  jungle,  there  sprang  a  great  yellow 
tiger,  straight  for  the  "  howdah  "  in  which  the 
Colonel  Sahib  and  Harry  and  Chola  were  sit- 
ting. 

With  a  howl  of  pain  the  tiger  rolled  under 
the  elephant's  feet,  as  a  bullet  from  the  Colo- 
nel's gun  went  crashing  into  his  brain. 

"My!  but  he's  a  fine  fellow!  Won't  his 
skin  make  a  fine  rug,  father?"  cried  Harry, 
in  great  excitement.  When  he  was  measured, 
the  old  beater  said  that  it  was  one  of  the  big- 
gest tigers  he  had  ever  seen.  The  Colonel 
felt  very  proud  of  his  prize. 

They  beat  around  through  the  bush  for  sev- 
eral days,  but  they  came  upon  no  more  tigers; 
so  the  party  turned  back  again  on  their  own 
tracks  bound  for  home. 

Our  two  little  friends  were  sorry  to  part, 
but  Harry  said  that  Chola  must  come  and  see 
him  at  Simla,  up  in  the  hills,  where  the  Eng- 
lish folk  go  when  it  gets  too  hot  for  them  to 


SUDDENLY,    UP   OUT   OF   THE   JUNGLE,    THERE    SPRANG    A    GREAT 
YELLOW   TIGER." 


Chola  Goes  on  a  Tiger  Hunt     103 

stay  in  the  plains  and  in  the  big  cities.  There 
the  boys  would  have  some  more  "  good  times  " 
at  the  Colonel  Sahib's  bungalow,  among  the 
cedars,  as  the  Englishman's  country  house  in 
India  is  called. 

And  didn't  Chola  have  wonderful  tales  to 
tell  to  Mahala  and  Nao,  as  they  all  sat  to- 
gether in  the  evenings  under  the  big  tree  in 
the  garden,  while  Shriya  played  with  her  new 
dolls  beside  them  and  listened  with  wide-open 
eyes. 


THE   END. 


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Jerry's  Reward.    By  Evelyn  Snead  Barnett. 

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The  Little  Colonel.       (Trade  Mark  > 

The  scene  of  this  story  is  laid  in  Kentucky.  Its  hero- 
ine is  a  small  girl,  who  is  known  as  the  Little  Colonel, 
on  account  of  her  fancied  resemblance  to  an  old-school 
Southern  gentleman,  whose  fine  estate  and  old  family 
are  famous  in  the  region. 

The  Giant  Scissors. 

This  is  the  story  of  Joyce  and  of  her  adventures 
in  France.  Joyce  is  a  great  friend  of  the  Little  Colonel, 
and  in  later  volumes  shares  with  her  the  delightful  ex- 
periences of  the  "  House  Party  "  and  the  "  Holidays." 

Two  Little  Knights  of  Kentucky. 

Who  Were  the  Little  Colonel's  Neighbors. 

In  this  volume  the  Little  Colonel  returns  to  us  like  an 
old  friend,  but  with  added  grace  and  charm.  She  is 
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being  taken  by  the  "  two  little  knights." 

Mildred's  Inheritance. 

A  delightful  little  story  of  a  lonely  English  girl  who 
comes  to  America  and  is  befriended  by  a  sympathetic 
American  family  who  are  attracted  by  her  beautiful 
speaking  voice.  By  means  of  this  one  gift  she  is  en- 
abled to  help  a  school-girl  who  has  temporarily  lost  the 
use  of  her  eyes,  and  thus  finally  her  life  becomes  a  busy, 
happy  one. 


L.  C.  PAGE  AND  COMPANY'S 


By  ANNIE  FELLOWS  JOHNSTON  {Continued') 

Cicely  and  Other  Stories  for  Girls. 

The  readers  of  Mrs.  Johnston's  charming  juveniles 
will  be  glad  to  learn  of  the  issue  of  this  volume  for 
young  people. 

Aunt  'Liza's  Hero  and  Other  Stories. 

A  collection  of  six  bright  little  stories,  which  will 
appeal  to  all  boys  and  most  girls. 

Big  Brother. 

A  story  of  two  boys.  The  devotion  and  care  of 
Steven,  himself  a  small  boy,  for  his  baby  brother,  is  the 
theme  of  the  simple  tale. 

Ole  Mammy's  Torment. 

"Ole  Mammy's  Torment"  has  been  fitly  called  "a 
classic  of  Southern  life."  It  relates  the  haps  and  mis- 
haps of  a  small  negro  lad,  and  tells  how  he  was  led  by 
love  and  kindness  to  a  knowledge  of  the  right. 

The  Story  of  Dago. 

In  this  story  Mrs.  Johnston  relates  the  story  of  Dago, 
a  pet  monkey,  owned  jointly  by  two  brothers.  Dago 
tells  his  own  story,  and  the  account  of  his  haps  and  mis- 
haps is  both  interesting  and  amusing. 

The  Quilt  That  Jack  Built. 

A  pleasant  little  story  of  a  boy's  labor  of  love,  and 
how  it  changed  the  course  of  his  life  many  years  after 
it  was  accomplished. 

Flip's  Islands  of  Providence. 

A  story  of  a  boy's  life  battle,  his  early  defeat,  a&d  nl® 
final  triumph,  well  worth  the  reading. 


COSY  CORNER  SERIES 


By  EDITH  ROBINSON 

A  Little  Puritan's  First  Christmas. 

A  Story  of  Colonial  times  in  Boston,  telling  how 
Christmas  was  invented  by  Betty  Sewall,  a  typical  child 
of  the  Puritans,  aided  by  her  brother  Sam. 

A  Little  Daughter  of  Liberty. 

The  author  introduces  this  story  as  follows : 
"  One  ride  is  memorable  in  the  early  history  of  the 
American  Revolution,  the  well-known  ride  of  Paul 
Revere.  Equally  deserving  of  commendation  is  another 
ride,  —  the  ride  of  Anthony  Severn,  —  which  was  no  less 
historic  in  its  action  or  memorable  in  its  consequences." 

A  Loyal  Little  Maid. 

A  delightful  and  interesting  story  of  Revolutionary 
days,  in  which  the  child  heroine,  Betsey  Schuyler^ 
renders  important  services  to  George  Washington. 

A  Little  Puritan  Rebel. 

This  is  an  historical  tale  of  a  real  girl,  during  the 
time  when  the  gallant  Sir  Harry  Vane  was  governor  of 

Massachusetts. 

A  Little  Puritan  Pioneer. 

The  scene  of  this  story  is  laid  in  the  Puritan  settle- 
ment at  Charlestown. 

A  Little  Puritan  Bound  Girl. 

A  story  of  Boston  in  Puritan  days,  which  is  of  great 
interest  to  youthful  readers. 

A  Little  Puritan  Cavalier. 

The  story  of  a  "  Little  Puritan  Cavalier "  who  tried 
with  all  his  boyish  enthusiasm  to  emulate  the  spirit  and 
ideals  of  the  dead  Crusaders. 

A  Puritan  Knight  Errant. 

The  story  tells  of  a  young  lad  in  Colonial  times  who 
endeavored  to  carry  out  the  high  ideals  of  the  knights 
of  olden  days. 


L.  C.  PAGE  AND  COMPANY'S 


By  OUIDA  {Louise  de  la  Ramie) 

A   Dog  Of   Flanders  :  A  Christmas  Story. 
Too  well  and  favorably  known  to  require  description. 

The  Nurnberg  Stove. 

This  beautiful  story  has  never  before  been  published 
at  a  popular  price. 

By  FRANCES  MARGARET  FOX 

The  Little  Giant's  Neighbours. 

A  charming  nature  story  of  a  "little  giant"  whost 
neighbours  were  the  creatures  of  the  field  and  garden. 

Farmer  Brown  and  the  Birds. 

A  little  story  which  teaches  children  that  the  birds 
are  man's  best  friends. 

Betty  of  Old  Mackinaw. 

A  charming  story  of  child-life,  appealing  especially  to 
the  little  readers  who  like  stories  of  "  real  people." 

Brother  Billy. 

The  story  of  Betty's  brother,  and  some  further  ad- 
ventures of  Betty  herself. 

Mother  Nature's  Little  Ones. 

Curious  little  sketches  describing  the  early  lifetime, 
or  "  childhood,"  of  the  little  creatures  out-of-doors. 

How  Christmas  Came  to  the  Mul- 
vaneys. 

A  bright,  lifelike  little  story  of  a  family  of  poor  chil- 
dren, with  an  unlimited  capacity  for  fun  and  mischief. 
The  wonderful  never-to-be  forgotten  Christmas  that 
came  to  them  is  the  climax  of  a  series  of  exciting  inci- 
dents. 


COSY  CORNER  SERIES 


By  MISS  MI/LOCK 

The  Little  Lame  Prince. 

A  delightful  story  of  a  little  boy  who  has  many  ad- 
ventures by  means  of  the  magic  gifts  of  his  fairy  god- 
mother. 

Adventures  of  a  Brownie, 

The  story  of  a  household  elf  who  torments  the  cook 
and  gardener,  but  is  a  constant  joy  and  delight  to  the 
children  who  love  and  trust  him. 

His  Little  Mother. 

Miss  Mulock's  short  stories  for  children  are  a  constant 
source  of  delight  to  them,  and  "  His  Little  Mother,"  in 
this  new  and  attractive  dress,  will  be  welcomed  by  hosts 
of  youthful  readers. 

Little  Sunshine's  Holiday. 

An  attractive  story  of  a  summer  outing.  "  Little  Sun- 
shine ''  is  another  of  those  beautiful  child-characters  for 
which  Miss  Mulock  is  so  justly  famous. 

By   MARSHALL    SAUNDERS 

For  His  Country. 

A  sweet  and  graceful  story  of  a  little  boy  who  loved 
his  country;  written  with  that  charm  which  has  endeared 
Miss  Saunders  to  hosts  of  readers. 

Nita,  the  Story  of  an  Irish  Setter. 

In  this  touching  little  book,  Miss  Saunders  shows  how 
dear  to  her  heart  are  all  of  God's  dumb  creatures. 

Alpatok,   the  Story  of  an    Eskimo 
Dog. 

Alpatok,  an  Eskimo  dog  from  the  far  north,  was  stolen 
from  his  master  and  left  to  starve  in  a  strange  city,  but 
was  befriended  and  cared  for,  until  he  was  able  to  re- 
turn to  his  owner. 


L.   C.  PAGE  AND   COMPANY'S 


By  WILL  ALLEN  DROMGOOLE 

The  Farrier's  Dog  and  His  Feliow. 

This  story,  written  by  the  gifted  young  Southern 
woman,  will  appeal  to  all  that  is  best  in  the  natures  of 
the  many  admirers  of  her  graceful  and  piquant  style. 

The  Fortunes  of  the  Fellow. 

Those  who  read  and  enjoyed  the  pathos  and  charm 
of  "  The  Farrier's  Dog  and  His  Fellow  "  will  welcome 
the  further  account  of  the  adventures  of  Baydaw  and 
the  Fellow  at  the  home  of  the  kindly  smith. 

The  Best  of  Friends. 

This  continues  the  experiences  of  the  Farrier's  dog  and 
his  Fellow,  written  in  Miss  Dromgoole's  well-known 
charming  style. 

Down  in  Dixie. 

A  fascinating  story  for  boys  and  girls,  of  a  family  of 
Alabama  children  who  move  to  Florida  and  grow  up  in 
the  South. 


By  MARIAN  W.  WILDMAN 

Loyalty  Island. 

An  account  of  the  adventures  of  four  children  and 
their  pet  dog  on  an  island,  and  how  they  cleared  their 
brother  from  the  suspicion  of  dishonesty. 

Theodore  and  Theodora. 

This  is  a  story  of  the  exploits  and  mishaps  of  two  mis- 
chievous twins,  and  continues  the  adventures  of  the 
interesting  group  of  children  in  "  Loyalty  Island." 


COSY  CORNER   SERIES 


By  CHARLES  G.  D.  ROBERTS 

The  Cruise  of  the  Yacht  Dido. 

The  story  of  two  boys  who  turned  their  yacht  into  a 
fishing  boat  to  earn  money  to  pay  for  a  college  course, 
and  of  their  adventures  while  exploring  in  search  of 
hidden  treasure. 

The  Young  Acadian. 

The  story  of  a  young  lad  of  Acadia  who  rescued  a 
little  English  girl  from  the  hands  of  savages. 

The  Lord  of  the  Air. 

The  Story  of  the  Eagle 

The  King  of  the  Mamozekel. 

The  Story  of  the  Moose 

The  Watchers  of  the  Camp=fire. 

The  Story  of  the  Panther 

The  Haunter  of  the  Pine  Gloom. 

The  Story  of  the  Lynx 

The  Return  to  the  Trails. 

The  Story  of  the  Bear 

The  Little  People  of  the  Sycamore, 

The  Story  of  the  Raccoon 

By  OTHER  AUTHORS 

The  Great  Scoop. 

By  MOLL  Y  ELLIOT  SEA  WELL 

A  capital  tale  of  newspaper  life  in  a  big  city,  and 
of  a  bright,  enterprising,  likable  youngster  employed 
thereon. 

John  Whopper. 

The  late  Bishop  Clark's  popular  story  of  the  boy  who 
fell  through  the  earth  and  came  out  in  China,  with  a 
new  introduction  by  Bishop  Potter. 


L.   C.   PAGE  AND   COMPANY 


The  Dole  Twins. 

By  KATE  UPSON  CLARK 

The  adventures  of  two  little  people  who  tried  to  earn 
money  to  buy  crutches  for  a  lame  aunt.  An  excellent 
description  of  child-life  about  18 12,  which  will  greatly 
interest  and  amuse  the  children  of  to-day,  whose  life  is 
widely  different 

Larry  Hudson's  Ambition. 

By  JAMES  OTIS,  author  of  "Toby Tyler,"  etc. 

Larry  Hudson  is  a  typical  American  boy,  whose  hard 
work  and  enterprise  gain  him  his  ambition,  —  an  educa- 
tion and  a  start  in  the  world. 

The  Little  Christmas  Shoe. 

By  JANE  P.  SCOTT  WOODRUFF 
A  touching  story  of  Yule-tide. 

Wee  Dorothy. 

By  LAURA   UPDEGRAFF 

A  story  of  two  orphan  children,  the  tender  devotion 
of  the  eldest,  a  boy,  for  his  sister  being  its  theme  and 
setting.  With  a  bit  of  sadness  at  the  beginning,  the 
story  is  otherwise  bright  and  sunny,  and  altogether 
wholesome  in  every  way. 

The  King  of  the  Golden   River:   a 

Legend  of  Stiria.     By  JOHN RUSK  IN 
Written  fifty  years  or  more   ago,   and  not  originally 
intended  for  publication,  this  little  fairy-tale  soon  be- 
came known  and  made  a  place  for  itself. 

A  Child's  Garden  of  Verses. 

By  L.  R.  STEVENSON 

Mr.  Stevenson's  little  volume  is  too  well  known  to 
need  description. 


BOOKS  FOR  YOUNG  PEOPLE 

■  .-  i  i    ■  ^ 

THE  LITTLE  COLONEL  BOOKS 

(Trade  Mark) 

By  ANNIE  FELLOWS  JOHNSTON 
Each  i  vol.,  large  i2mo,  cloth  decorative,  per  vol.  $150 

The  Little  Colonel  Stories. 

(Trade  Mark) 

Illustrated. 

Being  three  "  Little  Colonel "  stories  in  the  Cosy 
Corner  Series,  "  The  Little  Colonel,"  "  Two  Little  Knights 
of  Kentucky,"  and  "  The  Giant  Scissors,"  put  into  a 
single  volume. 

The  Little  Colonel's  House  Party. 

(Trade  Mark) 

Illustrated  by  Louis  Meynell. 

The  Little  Colonel's  Holidays. 

(Trade  Mark) 

Illustrated  by  L.  J.  Bridgman. 

The  Little  Colonel's  Hero. 

(Trade  Mark) 

Illustrated  by  E.  B.  Barry. 

The    Little    Colonel    at    Boarding 

(Trade  Mark) 

School. 

Illustrated  by  E.  B.  Barry. 

The  Little  Colonel  in  Arizona. 

(Trade  Mark) 

Illustrated  by  E.  B.  Barry. 

The  Little  Colonel's  Christmas  Va- 

(Trade  Mark) 

cation. 

illustrated  by  E.  B.  Barry. 

The  Little  Colonel,  Maid  of  Honour. 

(Trade  Mark) 

Illustrated  by  E.  B.  Barry. 


L.    C    PAGE  AND   COMPANY S" 


The  Little  Colonel. 

(Trade  Mark) 

Two  Little  Knights  of  Kentucky. 
The  Giant  Scissors, 
Big  Brother. 

Special  Holiday  Editions 
Each  one  volume,  cloth  decorative,  smali  quarto,  $1.25. 
New  plates,    handsomely  illustrated,  with    eight  full- 
page  drawings  in  color. 

"  The  books  are  as  satisfactory  to  the  small  girls,  who  find 
them  adorable,  as  for  the  mothers  and  librarians,  who  delight 
in  their  influence."  —  Christian  Register. 

These  four  volumes,  boxed  as  a  four  volume  set     .     $5.00 

In  the  Desert  of  Waiting:  the  legend 

of  Camelback  Mountain. 

The  Three  Weavers :  a  fairy  tale  for 

Fathers  and  Mothers  as  Well  as  for  Their 
Daughters. 

Keeping  Tryst. 

The  Legend  of  the  Bleeding  Heart. 

Each  one  volume,  tall  i6mo,  cloth  decorative  .     $0.50 

Paper  boards 35 

There  has  been  a  constant  demand  for  publication 
in  separate  form  of  these  four  stories,  which  were  orig- 
inally included  in  four  of  the  "  Little  Colonel  "  books. 

Joel:  A  Boy  of  Galilee.     By  Annie  fel 

lows  Johnston      Illustrated  by  L.  J.  Bridgman. 
New  illustrated  edition,  uniform  with  the  Little  Colonel 
Books,  1  vol.,  large  i2mo,  cloth  decorative       .     $1.50 
A  story  of  the  time  of  Christ,  which  is  one  of  the 
author's  best-known  books. 


BOOKS  FOR    YOUNG  PEOPLE 


Asa  Holmes  5  or,  at  the  cross-roads,    a 

sketch  of  Country  Life  and  Country  Humor.  By 
Annie  Fellows  Johnston.  With  a  frontispiece  by 
Ernest  Fosbery. 

Large  i6mo,  cloth,  gilt  top  .         .         .         $1.00 

"'Asa  Holmes;  or,  At  the  Cross-Roads'  is  the  most  de- 
lightful, most  sympathetic  and  wholesome  book  that  has  been 
published  in  a  long  while."  —  Boston  Times. 

The  Rival  Campers;  or,  the  adventures 

of  Henry  Burns.     By  Ruel  Perley  Smith. 

Square  i2mo,  cloth  decorative,  illustrated    .         $1.50 

Here  is  a  book  which  will  grip  and  enthuse  every  boy  reader. 
It  is  the  story  of  a  party  of  typical  American  lads,  coura- 
geous, alert,  and  athletic,  who  spend  a  summer  camping  on  an 
island  off  the  Maine  coast. 

"  The  best  boys'  book  since  '  Tom  Sawyer. ' "  —  San  Fran- 
cisco Examiner. 

The  Rival  Campers  Afloat;    or,  the 

Prize  Yacht  Viking.  By  Ruel  Perley  Smith. 
Square  i2mo,  cloth  decorative,  illustrated  .  $1.50 
This  book  is  a  continuation  of  the  adventures  of  "The 
Rival  Campers  "  on  their  prize  yacht  Viking.  An  accidental 
collision  results  in  a  series  of  exciting  adventures,  culminat- 
ing in  a  mysterious  chase,  the  loss  of  their  prize  yacht,  and 
its  recapture  by  means  of  their  old  yacht,  Surprise. 

The  Rival  Campers  Ashore.    By  ruel 

Perley  Smith,  author   of   "  The  Rival    Campers," 

"  The  Rival  Campers  Afloat,"  etc. 

Square  i2mo,  cloth  decorative,  illustrated    .         $1.50 

"The  Rival  Campers  Ashore  "  deals  with  the  adventures 
of  the  campers  and  their  friends  in  and  around  the  town  of 
Benton.  Mr.  Smith  introduces  a  new  character,  —  a  girl, — 
who  shows  them  the  way  to  an  old  mill,  around  which  the 
mystery  of  the  story  revolves.  The  girl  is  an  admirable  ac- 
quisition, proving  as  daring  and  resourceful  as  the  campers 
themselves. 


Z.  C.  PAGE   AND    COMPANY'S 


The  Young  Section-Hand ;  or,  the  ad- 
ventures of  Allan  West.     By  Burton  E.  Ste- 
venson, author  of  "  The  Marathon  Mystery,"  etc. 
Square   i2mo,  cloth    decorative,   illustrated    by  L.  J. 

Bridgman $i-5o 

Mr.  Stevenson's  hero  is  a  manly  lad  of  sixteen,  who  is  given 
a  chance  as  a  section-hand  on  a  big  "Western  railroad,  and 
whose  experiences  are  as  real  as  they  are  thrilling. 

The  Young  Train  Dispatcher.  By  bur- 
ton E.  Stevenson,  author  of  "  The  Young  Section- 
hand,"  etc. 
Square  1 2mo,  cloth  decorative,  illustrated    .         $1.50 

The  yonng  hero  has  many  chances  to  prove  his  manliness 
and  courage  in  the  exciting  adventures  which  befall  him  in  the 
discharge  of  his  duty. 

Captain  Jack  Lorimer.    By  Winn  Stan 

DISH. 

Square  i2mo,  cloth  decorative,  illustrated  by  A.  B. 
Shute $1.50 

Jack  is  a  fine  example  of  the  all-around  American  high- 
school  boy.  He  has  the  sturdy  qualities  boys  admire,  and 
his  fondness  for  clean,  honest  sport  of  all  kinds  will  strike  a 
chord  of  sympathy  among  athletic  youths. 

Jack  Lorimer's  Champions;  or,  sports 

on  Land  and  Lake.     By  Winn  Standish,  author  of 

"  Captain  Jack  Lorimer,"  etc. 

Square  i2mo,  cloth  decorative,  illustrated  $i-S° 

All  boys  and  girls  who  take  an  interest  in  school  athletics 
will  wish  to  read  of  the  exploits  of  the  Millvale  High  School 
students,  under  the  leadership  of  Captain  Jack  Lorimer. 

Captain  Jack's  Champions  play  quite  as  good  ball  as  do 
some  of  the  teams  on  the  large  leagues,  and  they  put  all 
opponents  to  good  hard  work  in  other  summer  sports. 

Jack  Lorimer  and  his  friends  stand  out  as  the  finest  ex- 
amples of  all-round  American  high  school  boys  and  girls. 


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